Little kid
by manzanita
Summary: Kaitou Kid has a little problem and Shinichi has to deal with another victim of the Apotoxin.
1. Waiting

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters form Case Closed/Detective Conan and I am borrowing them without permission.

Shinhichi pulled off his glasses with a sigh. It_ hurt_ to watch another life destroyed by the Black Organization, no matter that the small boy just beginning to wake was a wanted criminal. No matter that observing the transformation had brought Ai much closer to a cure for all of them. It still hurt to be reminded of all that had been taken from him when he became Conan, perhaps the worst part was being reminded that until the Black Organization was stopped more lives would be destroyed, innocent and not so innocent alike.  
The child began to stir, finally awake. Shinichi watched as he struggled free of the folds of the white cape and suit puddled around him. He smirked as he realized how ironic the situation really was, to protect himself and everyone he cared about he would help a thief hide. Putting his glasses back on he leaned forward offering his hand to the confused and frightened boy.  
"Welcome to my world Kid"

If you aren't familiar with the Japanese names Shinichi is Jimmy Kudo, Ran Mouri is Rachel Moore, Kogoro is Richard, and Heiji is Harley. I used the Japanese names because it's the first way I heard most of them and because I have no idea what the English names for Kaito, Aoko, Ai, and other characters will be.


	2. Awakening

Thank you for the reviews! This was meant to be a one shot but the story won't go away. I will try to update weekly but it may be closer to every two weeks. Most of my information about Detective Conan and the Kaitou Kid is from fan fiction so I apologize if anyone is too OOC. This is set after Kaitou Kid finds out that Shinichi is Conan and they've had a few 'conversations'.

"Welcome to my world Kid"   
The Kid just stared at him, eyes wide. When he didn't answer Conan became worried; what if there was something wrong? After all the Kid had survived a 'controlled crash' in a hang-glider from three stories up _before_ the people from the Black Organization got a hold of him.  
"Kid, are you ok?"  
"Am I ok? I hurt in places I didn't know I had and the last thing I remember is two guys in black trench coats working me over good before force-feeding me some kind of pill and knocking me out. Yeah, I'm _fine_. Although I am alive so I guess things are looking up."  
"You're lucky to be alive, if that bullet had hit you instead of your hang-glider..." Conan shook his head "They'd be scraping you off the side of a building about now."  
"Always the optimist aren't you?" He said sarcastically. "Well on that cheerful note, it's time for me to leave. It's not that I don't enjoy our talks but I'd rather not be here to meet the police."  
"Wait Kid! You can't leave!"  
"How will you stop me shrimp?" Kid asked as he slid off the couch then froze as he realized something was wrong. He looked at himself and his clothes with an expression of horrified disbelief.  
_'If Kid's face was any paler he would match his suit'_ thought Conan.  
"Wh-what?"  
"Kid, they did the same thing to you that they did to me. They left you to die, thinking the poison would kill you. Hattori and I brought you to Dr Agasa's house. We bandaged the worst of your injuries while you were unconscious but you're a mess, so sit back down before you start bleeding again."  
"Why? Do you want me to be nice and clean for the cops? It will almost be worth it to see you try to convince them a kid is the Kid." He giggled, "The Kid's a kid!" The laughter was mixed with tears now and great heaving sobs as he collapsed to the floor. Conan sat on the floor next to the Kid. He understood what it was like to find you aren't quite you anymore. So much of your sense of self is tied to your physical self.  
"I can't believe I'm saying this but, I'm not turning you in. I'm much more interested in stopping the people who did this to us. But **no one** can know you weren't killed. If they come after you again they won't stop with you, they will track down everyone who has anything to do with you. Your friends, your family, classmates and co- workers and if they are feeling particularly nasty the will make it look like you killed them then committed suicide. And I can't risk them finding out that the Apotoxin isn't always fatal. If they find out what it did to us, well..."  
The Kid shuddered "What are you going to do with me?" He asked.  
"I thought a truce until the Black Organization is stopped and we find a cure. I was hoping you would help me bring them down. Since they seemed to be worried that you could expose them in some way."   
Two pairs of brilliant blue eyes met and a deal was made without another word.


	3. Plan?

Thank you Angechishikimon for the information, also for being the only one to review twice (so far). Thank you Panthra Blue-Eyes, Ytak, tively-split, and Vera for your reviews, I will re-post the first two chapters and fix the spelling/grammar mistakes soon. Oh and Vera? I _like_ bad puns.  
  
Disclaimer: Gosho Aoyama owns Detective Conan, I own an attack cat, about 500 used books, and a very good recipe for raspberry chipolte chicken.  
  
Later that morning Ai and Agasa were making breakfast while Conan and Heiji discussed the events of last night, when they heard a soft noise from the doorway. Heiji opened the door to find the Kid who was now wearing slightly too large sweatpants, a tee-shirt and many bandages, and swearing softly but very creatively at the just out of reach doorknob.   
"Where did you learn that?" asked Heiji, as Kid finished up with an anatomically improbable description.   
"Have you ever heard Inspector Nakamori after I get away?"   
"Sounds like he needs to be a little more careful about his language around kids."   
"Hattori" said Ai "This is not the appropriate time for your 'little' jokes and if you continue, I may consider arranging for you to "join the ranks of the vertically challenged" as you put it."  
"Now that is an impressive threat." Said Kid with a grin as Heiji blanched under his tan, "Can I assume you have something in common with Kudo and I?" Suddenly serious again Kid turned to Conan. "Conan, I need to borrow the phone."   
"WHAT! I told you what would happen if any one..."   
"I know Conan! But this is important!"   
"What could be so important that you would take this big a risk?"   
"My Mom." He said softly "I want to tell her I'm alive, and warn her." Ai looked at Kid, though her face was nearly expressionless her voice was almost sympathetic.   
"Kid, there is a cell phone near the computer. It can not be traced." Kid turned and rushed from the room.   
"Why did you do that?" Asked Conan   
"Kudo, what would have happened if you couldn't talk to Ran, even as Conan? If you had to let Dr Agasa and your parents believe you were dead?"  
"Oh, I see." The four of them sat in silence for a moment before Heiji chuckled.   
"I wonder if his mom tells him to eat well and get some rest before his heists?" He asked.  
  
Kaito scratched at the bandages on his face as he waited for his mom to answer the phone. 'I don't know how I'm going to explain this to her.' He thought 'I just never planned for any thing like this. Well I don't think anyone plans for anything like this.'   
"Moshi-moshi"  
"Hi Mom."   
"Who is this?  
'Oops! I forgot to concentrate on sounding like myself.' "Mom, it's me Kaito," he said lowering his voice so he sounded like a teenager this time.   
"Kaito! What happened! When you didn't come back, I thought. Did you get arrested?"   
"Arrested?"   
"At your heist last night."  
"Mom, you knew?"   
"Of course dear. Your father and I didn't keep secrets from each other. Now where are you? What happened? Are you alright?"   
"How did? Never mind, I can't talk long. Mom, the people who killed dad set a trap for me. I'm alright but they think I'm dead. I can't let them find out they're wrong." He shuddered as he remembered that moment when they caught him. He thought they were trying to beat him to death, when he realized one of the guys was talking about 'cleaning up loose ends' then the other one said.   
"Nah, he found out about his dad by accident and he hasn't told any one. Hell, his girlfriend is the daughter of the head of the task force back there!"   
"Mom," said Kaito "don't let any one know you've talked to me, ok? I promise I'll be back as soon as I can and I won't let those murderers get away. Just, stay safe, please."   
"Only if you stay safe too, my little Kaito"   
'If she only knew.' He thought. They talked for a while about simple things and silly things, both unwilling or perhaps unable to bring up what happened to him last night or how long he would be away.   
Afterwards he made a second phone call. His conversation with Jii was brief. Jii promised to keep an eye on the Nakamori family and on Kaitos' mother. He just wished he could have seen Jiis' face when he mentioned that he was working with the Great Detectives of the East and West and no they didn't arrest him. His grin made the bandage on his cheek pull as he hung up the phone.  
  
After breakfast Kaito turned to Conan and said   
"Alright, what's the plan?"  
"Plan?" asked Conan.   
"The plan. You said something about a truce earlier, I assumed you had a plan."   
"Well, first I want to know what you know about the Black Organization and why they're after you."   
"That is a long story. And it starts with a magician." And so Kaito told a story about a magician who was also a thief, a thief who made his victims loose face rather than money. And how he was hired to find a particular jewel by a mysterious organization. How, once he found out what kind of people he was working for he not only canceled the deal, but he also set out to keep them from getting the jewel. How the magician was killed and eight years later his son found out and set out to find the Pandora jewel first and expose the murderers.  
After the explanations were made, some plans were discussed (although they couldn't do much until Kaito had recovered from last night) and the truce started to become a partnership. The next few days were quiet as Kaito rested, recovered, and stayed out of sight. At first he was content to sleep, watch TV, and get used to his new size (He was disgusted to find out he was now slightly shorter than Conan). But as he began feeling better and his injuries healed he became restless and tired of being confined to Dr. Agasas house and having to hide whenever any one came over, as his injuries would draw a lot of unwelcome attention.  
In short everything was quiet until Kaito got bored.


	4. Boredom and kids?

Thank you again for the reviews. I got this chapter out faster than usual because my neighbors set off fireworks all night for the last three nights! Since I couldn't sleep I wrote all night.  
  
"Ow ow ow, OW!" _'I'm glad I don't have to change these bandages any more!'_ thought Kaito as he perched on a stool to look in the bathroom mirror while peeling off the bandages on his face. _'That's weird, if I was wearing glasses I'd look like Conan! Not quite identical, but very close, we could pass for twin brothers easily.'_ Kaito chuckled, _'Bet that will freak him out, he needs to lighten up a little anyway. I don't think he has smiled twice in the past couple of weeks. And one of those times was when he found out he is taller than me.'_ Kaito frowned remembering Conan almost dancing around with excitement at finally being taller than someone. _'Oh well, I guess I shouldn't call him Shrimp any more. Even if he does have the best reactions.'_ After checking the rest of his injuries, most of which were nearly healed, he decided to go see what Agasa and Shinichi were talking about. It sounded like a new invention. _'I must be bored, I'm actually considering hanging around a detective!'  
_ "I've made the tracking device in these glasses more efficient which should give you up to two extra hours before the batteries run down."  
"Thanks! Let me try them on." As soon as Conan set down his old pair of glasses Kaito grabbed them and put them on. And when Conan turned to look at Dr Agasa and Ai, Kaito was standing behind him mimicking his every move. Agasa and Ai stared at the resemblance between the two boys, this was the first time they had seen the Kid without bandages on his face since the night they had rescued an unconscious and shrinking Kid, and his injuries had hidden the resemblance then. Conan turned to see what they were looking at and jumped when he saw the Kid looking like his mirror image except for his clothes and hair.  
"Augh!" they both yelled at the same time.   
"What are you doing?" Again in unison.  
"Stop that!" Still in perfect synchronization.   
"Quit saying what I'm saying!"   
"Why you!!" At that point Conan jumped at the Kid who easily dodged him. The two of them almost bounced across the room trading insults.   
"You're so slow, I can't believe you've actually caught criminals! Did they trip over you or something?"   
"ARRGH! Just let me get my hands on you!!"   
"You'll have to be quicker than this to catch me." Said the Kid as he bounced off a chair and over the table.  
"Come back here you hyperactive chipmunk!" Yelled Conan as he dove under the table and scrambled after him.  
"Chipmunk?" Kid actually looked insulted "Chipmunk!?"   
"I think it fits, you're small and annoying. Or maybe you'd prefer mosquito?" As they stopped to glare at each other they became aware of strange noises coming from their audience. Ai's voice was very calm, even cold but the corners of her mouth were twitching as if she was trying to not smile.  
"I see you are feeling better Kid"   
At her comment Agasa lost it and his muffled snorts became all out laughter. "I'm s-sorry 'gasp' It's just... it's just you two!" He wiped tears from his eyes before continuing. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were twins. And running around the room like that, I haven't laughed so hard in weeks!"   
"Glad I could be of service." Said Kid as he flopped into a chair. "Thanks for the workout Conan, I've been getting slow lately."   
"Workout? You mean that was for exercise?" asked Conan.  
"Yep, the patented Kaitou Kid workout, guaranteed to keep you strong, fast, and flexible enough to dodge a hundred cops!"   
"Kid, you are **so** weird."   
"Thanks!" he chirped, sounding like the small child he resembled.   
"That wasn't meant as a compliment."   
"I know."   
"I give up. Why do you look so much like me anyway?"   
"I don't know. Maybe we're related."   
Conan groaned, "I don't even want to think about that!" He said as he collapsed in to a chair next to Kid. Agasa was still grinning as he turned to Kid and asked, "Well now that you're feeling better have you decided what name you want to go by?"   
"Not really, I mean it's weird picking my name and knowing that I might have to live with it for a while. Hey Conan, how did you pick your name anyways?"   
"Ran found me and all I could think of was the names of the authors of some of my favorite mysteries. I didn't have time to think about it." Grumbled Conan. The Kid looked like he wanted to laugh as he adjusted his borrowed glasses, "And now you're stuck with it. So I guess 'Conan' is from the author of Sherlock Holmes?"   
Suddenly they were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Kid was caught off guard and wasn't even out of his chair when Ran came into the room. "Conan, I..." She trailed off as she caught sight of the two boys. "Conan??"   
_'What do I do now?'_ thought Kaito as Ran walked over to him. "You look just like Conan! What's your name?"   
'_Think of something Kaito!'_ "Um, Arthur! My name's Arthur."   
"You must be related to Conan."   
"Uh, he's my, he's my brother!"   
"Your brother?"   
"Um, yeah. See our parents have to travel a lot and they didn't think we should have to change schools all the time so Conan come here and I went to stay with Grandma but she had to go to the hospital last week."   
"The hospital!"   
"Uh huh, because of her hip. She won't be able to walk for a while so I had to come here."  
"You must be so worried about her."   
"Yes I am," He said sadly, then he smiled. "but she says she's fine now and I get to see my brother every day!"   
"You're so cute. Arthur, why don't you go get your stuff together, I think you should come home with us."   
"What!" Conan and 'Arthur' had identical expressions of shock on their faces.   
"You must have missed each other so much, being twins and all. Conan why don't you go help him pack."   
Once they were where Ran wouldn't be able to hear them Conan glared at the other boy and said. "This is all your fault Kid, or should I call you Arthur?"   
"I had to think of something! Do you think I wanted it this way?!"   
"Judging from the look on your face, no."   
"Things just keep getting worse." Said Arthur with a sigh.


	5. Another mystery

Sorry this took so long, mysteries aren't easy to write. I promise the rest of the mystery will be done soon, I have the next few chapters mostly done except for the rewriting. And if anyone was confused about why Kid picked the name Arthur, well he was talking with Shinichi about why he was called Conan and he said he was thinking of the author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. So when Ran surprised him that was the first name he thought of. As always, all reviews are appreciated, especially constructive criticism.  
  
"Here, let me carry that for you Arthur." Said Ran as they walked out of Agasa's house.  
"Thanks!" He said cheerfully as he handed her his bag. Conan rolled his eyes at Kid's 'cute' act, 'He's a little too good at that' thought Conan, out loud he asked   
"Ran-neechan, why are we hurrying?"  
"Dad's working on a new case on an island. The client sent a private yacht to take us to the island but we need to be at the dock soon."   
"What kind of case?"   
"I'm not sure Conan, something about the man's nephew is accused of murder. I already packed your suitcase, but you might want to bring a book or game. We may be there a while."   
It didn't take them very long to get to the Mouri Detective Agency and once there Ran gave Arthur a quick tour while Conan finished packing. When Kogoro arrived he was not exactly pleased to discover he had a new 'houseguest' but he quit complaining after Ran punched a lamppost. This display of irritation also silenced Arthur who except for a muttered comment about mops hardly said a word until they were on the boat. This was fine with Conan who happily chattered with Ran sounding as if he really was her little brother.

Once on the yacht Conan and Arthur went in search of some privacy so they could talk.  
"Thanks to your stroke of genius back there, we need to work together to keep our secrets. Why did you say you were my brother anyways?"  
"I didn't exactly have time to think. It's not like I could say "Sorry I don't know who I am yet, could you ask me tomorrow?"  
"No, but..."   
"Look Kudo, I know you're irritated about this and I'm not thrilled with pretending to be your brother either but if we work together this might be an advantage for us."   
"How is this going to be an advantage?"   
"People pay attention to the obvious, so if you give them an unusual feature to focus on they don't remember the other details as clearly. Twins are unusual so people will remember that before they think of us as individuals. What I'm trying to say is we'll be 'the twin boys' to most people and they won't look farther than that."   
"I see, the Black Organization won't be looking for a pair of twins so they're more likely to overlook us."   
"Right!"   
Conan glared at him for a moment before saying, "I may not like it but you're right. Now if only you can be as big an annoyance to the Black Organization as you have been to everyone else."  
"Look who's talking."   
"So what's bothering you?" Asked Conan as he leaned on the rail.   
"Does she do that often?" Asked Arthur as he stared out at the water.   
"Do what?"   
"Does Ran-san often dent steel with her bare hands?"   
"Only when she's mad, or sometimes to make a point." Said Conan calmly.   
Arthur groaned as he flopped down to sit on the deck near Conan's feet. "I'm dead if she ever finds out who I am."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Do you remember when I took her clothes and disguised myself as her?"   
Conan's smirk looked odd on his childish face "Well if you behave I'll try to slow her down to give you a head start when you run for your life."   
"Ha ha, very funny." Arthur was sprawled on the deck with his head tilted back to look at Conan.   
"You should just tell her what happened to you, then we could sit back and watch as the men in black coats run in fear." He laughed as Conan glared at him "Just kidding! You need to lighten up, it won't help your disguise if you develop ulcers!" Now he was doing a handstand, his feet waving in the air.   
"What are you doing?"   
"Since I shrunk I'm not as strong or agile as I used to be. So I'm practicing and relearning the skills my mind remembers but my body doesn't." He bent over backwards and balanced on his hands and feet for a moment before collapsing on his back with a thump. "Besides, I don't like to sit still for very long. I'm going to see if I can get something to eat, you wanna come?"   
"_What did I do to deserve this?"_ wondered Conan as he watched the small boy with the mind of an internationally wanted criminal run off before he could answer.  
  
Late that evening they arrived at the island where they were met by a tall, grey haired man wearing a dark suit.   
"Are you detective Mouri?" He asked.   
"Yes."  
"Good, I am Ito, Nakajima-sama is waiting for you at the house. Please follow me." They picked up their bags and followed him to the car. It was a short drive to the edge of the small town and as they turned down a long driveway lined with lush gardens Ran commented on the huge trees that framed the entrance of the house.   
"Yes, those are two of the largest black walnut trees in country. Nakajima- sama takes great pride in his gardens; perhaps you could have a tour tomorrow while your father investigates. The roses and the peonies are quite lovely." The inside of the house was furnished in a beautiful blend of western and traditional styles much like the gardens were. Nakajima Masaru was a short and stocky man who was wearing traditional clothing and had a worried expression on his face.  
"Detective Kogoro? I'm Nakajima Masaru."   
Kogoro bowed and said "I'd like to know why I was hired, you were rather vague when we spoke on the phone."   
"I'm sorry, I'm not entirely sure where to begin. I suppose it started when I discovered that someone was stealing from my company and all the evidence pointed to someone close to me. Then a few days ago my son had several friends here for the weekend and he mentioned he needed to talk to my nephew, he never came back. The next day my nephew came in the house claiming he fell asleep in the garden but the housekeeper found his coat and a knife stained with blood and hidden in a storage room. The police also found a note from my son asking my nephew to meet him to talk about the thefts or he would tell me everything. My nephew was arrested for the murder of my son but I can't believe he did it; I raised him as if he was my younger son. I want you to find out what really happened, or at least find my sons body."


	6. Where's the body?

Sorry this took a while, I had to re-write one character. She just didn't work before. I will try to get the next chapter out soon.   
Thank you, Mystic, Kitty Neko, Meitantei Kudo KID, E.L Santos and CrazyInsaneAnimeFanGirl for your reviews on the last two chapters.  
By the way 'Little Kid' will be in three parts and this is almost half way through the first part, I think the whole thing might be about 35 or 40 chapters long but that could change. I won't abandon this story but I've been having some computer problems so some chapters may take a while.

"I want you to find out what happened, or at least find my sons body."  
  
"What?" asked Kogoro.   
Nakajima looked very tired as he explained, "My son's body is missing, it was his blood on the knife and coat but the police say the knife may not have been the murder weapon. They said there wasn't enough blood for a death by stabbing and they haven't found any sign of my son. My nephew was taken in for questioning and it looks like my son is dead but there are so many questions." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry, maybe we should continue this in the morning. I have arranged rooms for you but the boys will have to share a room."   
"Nakajima-san? You said your nephew was like your younger son, did something happen to his parents?'   
Nakajima looked down at Conan and answered, "My brother and I built this company together. But when he and his wife died in a car accident Renjiro came to live with my wife and I. Renjiro and my son, Taro, were about your age at the time."   
"They're both the same age?"   
"No, my son is older by six months"   
"Nakajima-san" Said Kogoro "I'll need to talk to everyone who was present the night of the murder."   
"Yes, I understand. There is my wife and I, but my wife wasn't feeling well today, she is already asleep. And my son's friends are staying at the hotel in town. It might be best if I sent for them tomorrow." After a brief discussion Kogoro and Nakajima agreed it would be a good idea to start in the morning so Nakajima directed his guests to their rooms.  
The room that Conan and Arthur shared was quite nice, with windows overlooking the garden. Conan was pacing restlessly near the windows a look of concentration on his face. Arthur watched this for a few minutes before asking,   
"What's your problem?"   
"Something doesn't add up."   
"Huh?"   
"This murder, the prime suspect doesn't have an alibi, a bloody knife was found wrapped in his coat, and then there's the note. All of this makes it look like he panicked and killed his cousin but where's the body? If he could hide the body so well why didn't he hide the knife?"   
"That is weird." Said Arthur.   
"Yeah, I wish I could go kick around a soccer ball for a while, that always helps me think." "So instead you're pacing,"  
Arthur thought for a moment then said, "Maybe I should teach you to juggle? That will be quieter than soccer or pacing."  
"No thanks Kid, I'm going to sleep." With that Conan lay down and pulled the blanket up to his ears.   
"Your welcome Kudo." Muttered Arthur before doing the same thing.  
  
Kogoro is not a morning person, he never has been, still Ran felt he should be up and working on the case before noon. This was why a half awake and irritable Kogoro stumbled out of bed hours earlier than usual only to be greeted by the sight of a grinning Conan drinking hot chocolate and watching Arthur. Arthur was not smiling; he was perched on a chair while a petite woman fussed over his hair. She appeared to be trying to make it lay down neatly and seemed to have been trying for a while. There were scattered combs, brushes, cans of hair spray and other evidence of the one- woman war on Arthur's hair. Kogoro decided he didn't want to have anything to do with this and went on with his search for coffee.   
About an hour or so later he was speaking with Nakajima when Ran and the woman he saw earlier came in to the room.   
"I hope he wasn't any trouble." Said Ran.   
"Not at all dear, although I swear his hair eats combs."   
Nakajima turned to see who had come in, "Ah! There you are. Detective, this is my wife. Kaida, this is the famous detective Mouri Kogoro."   
Nakajima Kaida was a small woman who wore a simple but elegant kimono, she bowed as she said, "I hope you can clear my boy's name."   
"Your boy?"   
"My nephew, he would not have killed his cousin. He's not that kind of person!"   
"Madam, with me on the case I assure you the truth will be found."   
_'Oh brother!'_ thought Conan as he came into the room. Arthur was right behind him, Arthur's hair was much neater now but it still appeared to have a mind of it's own.   
"Please tell me everything you remember happening that night." Said Kogoro   
"Well, both my boys were home from college for a week and Taro and Renjiro invited some friends over, I ran into Renjiro in the kitchen about 9:30 or 10:00, he said he didn't feel well and I told him to go sit in the garden for a bit and see if the fresh air helped. I think the guests left about 11:00 or so. The next morning I couldn't find Taro, and Renjiro came in wearing the clothes he wore the night before. He was muddy and missing his coat and he said he got dizzy and passed out in the garden. After breakfast the housekeeper was cleaning up the mess from the party when she found a bloody knife wrapped in Renjiro's coat and stuffed in a closet. After the police came they found the note in the study. "   
"Where did the murder happen?" Asked Conan.   
"I told you to stay out of my way when I'm working!" Kogoro looked like he was going to throw Conan out of the room when Arthur jumped up and said,   
"Please let us watch! I want to see how a great detective like you solves a case. I heard you're even more famous than Kudo Shinichi!"   
"You want to see a great detective at work? Well you can watch if you don't get in the way." Kogoro turned back to Kaida and asked her "Where did the murder occur?"   
Conan glared at Arthur and whispered, "I don't know if I should thank you or hurt you."   
"Your welcome." Whispered Arthur.


	7. Where's the murder?

Thank you again for the reviews.   
I guess I didn't explain at the beginning but Conan couldn't get to Kid in time to stop the BO from giving him the Apotoxin, he was several blocks away when the Kid was shot down.   
Sorry about the formatting problems, I'm not sure if it's my computer or Fanfiction or both but something weird is going on.  
Also I don't have a beta reader so if any one spots any problems with this chapter please tell me! I tried to write this mystery so you can start to figure it out about the same time Shinichi starts to explain it, all the clues are there in the story so please tell me if it's too easy or way to hard.  
P.S. Not all the clues are in this chapter.

"The strange thing is the police aren't sure where the murder happened."   
"What! How can that be?"   
"Well the only blood they found was on the knife and coat but the knife used to hang on the wall in the study." Although Kaida seemed calm it was easy to see that it took all she had to appear calm, her voice shook just a little as she continued "The note was also found in the study and the coat and knife were in the closet just down the hall."   
Kogoro questioned her for a moment more but didn't learn any thing else, he thanked her and went to talk to the servants. Ito the butler told the same story as Kaida except he remembered seeing Taro arguing with someone in the garden earlier in the day, before the party.  
"Who was he arguing with?" asked Kogoro.   
"I'm not sure, I couldn't see the mans face very well, they were standing behind some bushes. All I can tell you is he was taller than Taro and was wearing a hat and dark coat." He also said he drove all of Renjiro and Taro's friends back to the hotel and he saw Taro in the kitchen after he got back.   
Yoshida Satomi the housekeeper didn't see the man in the dark coat but she explained how she found the bloodstained knife and coat.   
"I was cleaning up the clutter from the party and when I opened the closet I saw the jacket wadded up on the floor, I thought someone hadn't bothered to hang it up so I picked it up and started to shake it out and that knife fell out! I screamed and dropped the coat and everybody came running, it was terrible!" Her hands fluttered near her face as she described her reaction to finding the knife, She explained that she didn't like to open closets now, afraid of what she might find.   
The gardener was a big man who wasn't pleased with being interrupted.   
"I already talked to the cops and I wasn't here that night, I went into town on my day off so quit bugging me. I've got work to do." With that he stomped away.  
  
After that Kogoro decided to go speak with the friends who were at the party that night, Nakajima loaned him the car and gave directions to the hotel. Conan tried to tag along but Ran caught him and Arthur and all but dragged them back to the house to go on a tour with her. Conan didn't even pretend to be happy about the tour as he watched Kogoro drive away.   
First they toured the gardens but they avoided the front where the gardener worked on the flowerbeds near the trees, fertilizing and watering the wilted looking flowers. The rest of the grounds were magnificent and even Conan was impressed once he stopped sulking and began to pay attention, although Arthur wouldn't go near the koi pond.  
  
After lunch Ito continued the tour inside the house, as they walked down the hall Conan noticed a large framed picture of the Nakajimas and two young men.   
"Is that Taro and Renjiro?"   
Ito stopped and looked, "Yes, Renjiro is the one on the right. That picture was taken about 6 months ago, a present from the boys."   
Renjiro seemed to be the tallest one of the four but not by much while Taro was as powerfully built as his father. Everybody had broad grins. A happy moment caught in time, unaware of the tragedy that would come.   
They entered the study. Dark toned bookcases lined one wall and a massive desk sat near the large window. Sunlight streamed across the thick cream- colored carpet and shone on the many objects on the walls and shelves. A collection of jet-black pottery decorated with geometric designs in matt and shiny finish was displayed in front of a woven rug patterned in cream, gray, black and brown. And on a nearby shelf was a beautiful piece of carved jade. A slab of rock covered in fossilized leaves stood in a corner next to a tall African drum and a large sea shell shaped a little like a clam shell but with an iridescent blue-green interior shared a shelf with a rock the size of a basket ball, it had been cut in half to show the hollow inside lined with amethyst crystals.   
And on the wall opposite the shelves was a display of weaponry. A wooden sword lined with shark teeth, stone arrowheads, a magnificent katana, and a European broad sword. Ran admired the carved jade and the black pottery while Ito explained how Nakajima brought home something unusual from every trip.   
"The pottery and that rug are from South-western USA and the abalone shell is from California and this knife," He said as he pointed to one hanging on the wall "is one of a pair he brought back from Europe."   
Ran walked over and looked up at the knife,   
"You said it's one of a pair?"   
"Yes, the police still have the other one, it used to hang next to this one."   
"You mean it was the bloody knife!" said Arthur his eyes were wide with surprise.   
Conan stared at the space where the knife used to hang.   
_' But then Renjiro can't be the murderer! In fact there are only two people who could have done it, but which one?'_ He watched Ito explain to Ran where some of the unusual weapons came from. Ito reached up rather stiffly to point at some boomerangs from Australia. _'That's it!'_ "Um Ran-neechan? Could I go outside?" asked Conan.   
"I guess but don't get into trouble"   
With that Conan rushed out of the room. Arthur knew he was up to something and followed after.   
"Energetic little boys aren't they?" Said Ito as he chuckled.  
"You have no idea." Replied Ran.  
  
Once outside Arthur quickly caught up with Conan.   
"I know you know something, why'd you run off like that?"   
"I think I know who the murder is but with Kogoro is gone and I need to find more evidence."   
"But isn't Renjiro the murderer?"   
"He can't be."   
"What?"   
"You saw the picture, Renjiro and Taro are both short. They'd barely come up to Ran's shoulder. Ran had to look up to where the knife hung. If Renjiro killed his cousin during an argument why did he use a knife that he would have needed a step stool to reach? Especially when there are so many knives in that room? In fact unless some one broke in after the party ended, there are only two people tall enough to be the murderer."   
"Are you going to tell me the butler did it?" Asked Arthur sarcastically   
"No, his shoulders are stiff. Did you notice when he reached above his head? He has either an old injury or more likely, arthritis. No the murder was committed by a tall and physically fit individual.   
And it wasn't in the study; with that light colored carpet even a small drop of blood would show. But someone wanted everyone to think it happened in the study just like they wanted everyone to think Renjiro did it. I think it happened outside, somewhere out of sight."  
"What about that garden shed by that greenhouse? It's hidden from the main house but it's close enough to the window of the study that someone could sneak in and out easily."  
Conan looked surprised at Arthur's comment. Arthur just shrugged and answered,   
"Well the murderer had to get back in to put the knife and jacket in the closet and I don't think he would want to walk through the front door carrying a bloody coat."   
"You know Kid," said Conan "I think you're smarter than you look!"   
"Hey!"  
  
Sorry about the cliffhanger, next chapter is coming soon.   
Oh and if you haven't read it yet you should read 'The Window' by Ysabet, it is great! If you have trouble finding it, it is listed under my favorite stories on my profile page. And after you read it look for the sequels 'The Longest Hour' 'Second Wind' and 'Windfall' they are fantastic! I couldn't stand to leave the computer until I finished them.   
Unfortunately 'Windfall' isn't finished and Ysabet doesn't update often but maybe if she gets enough reviews she'll give us another chapter. #grin # 


	8. In the shed

I don't own Detective Conan. (Wish I did but I won't hold my breath.)  
I'm sorry for any typos and formatting problems in these two chapters, every thing gets really weird when I download it to Fanfiction.  
  
Inside the garden shed were a lot of rakes, shovels, and hoes, but only the ones near the door appeared to have been used recently. Farther back from the door were rusty tools with splintered handles festooned with cobwebs and dust.   
"I doubt there's room for someone to commit a crime in here." Said Arthur.  
"Wait a minute," Said Conan "Along the back wall behind that old wheelbarrow it isn't as dusty. Here, help me move it."  
They grabbed the wheelbarrow that was upended against the wall and managed to shove it over so it rested against one of the piles of junk.   
"Look! There's a door here."   
"But it's locked"   
"No problem," Said Arthur as he examined the lock. "I could pick this kind of lock since I was four." As he said that the lock snapped open.   
"See."  
  
Inside was a well-lit room with no windows and only the one door. Unlike the first room there was hardly any dust and no junk except an old ladder in one corner. Conan and Arthur looked around in surprise before Arthur said.  
"I've got a feeling we should get out of here." When Conan turned around to answer Arthur he turned pale. Arthur whipped around to look behind him but before he could move a hand grabbed him by the collar and lifted him half off his feet. He struggled to get away but the grip was shifted from his collar to his throat. He couldn't breathe! He tried to get loose, to breath; anything but it was no use!  
Everything seemed to be getting dim as he heard a voice say.   
"I've got this one, you take care of that little brat." The last thing he saw before he passed out was the gardener carrying a coil of rope and grabbing Conan, who looked terrified.  
  
Meanwhile on the far side of the rose garden Ran was searching for the two boys. _'How can Conan disappear so fast?'_ She thought _'and if anything, Arthur is even worse! Maybe they're by the Koi pond.'_   
She had been looking for quite a while when she heard a shout.  
"Conan?" She ran towards the sound, hoping that wasn't Conan who made that frightened, panicked sound.  
  
The first thing Arthur noticed was his neck hurt. Also his hands were tied behind his back and he was lying on his side on something cold and hard.   
"Welcome back Kid."  
He opened his eyes to see Conan kneeling near him. Conan's hands were behind his back, his glasses were missing and he had a red mark on his cheek.   
"What happened?" asked Arthur.   
"We got caught, tied up, and thrown in here with Taro-san. And you were half strangled and unconscious."   
Arthur didn't hear anything after 'thrown in here with Taro'. Conan continued to explain   
"Taro wasn't killed they just wanted everybody to think he was."   
"Where are we?"   
"In a room under the shed."   
Arthur squirmed a moment then slowly sat up steadying himself with his hands, the rope that had been around his wrists now lay, still knotted, on the floor next to him.  
"Are you tied up too?" He asked Conan.   
Conan just gave him that look, the one that expressed his opinion more clearly than any words.  
"Jeez! Just asking, I'll have you loose in a minute."   
In no time at all both boys were free and Arthur was looking around at the room. Light came from one dim, bare bulb that hung from the middle of the low ceiling. The walls and floor were cement and along the far wall was a man sitting on a thin, bare futon. One arm was chained to a heavy weight that lay next to the futon, the other arm was bandaged with strips of cloth torn from his shirt. A bucket was just within reach of the chain and appeared to serve as a toilet.   
_'Well that explains the smell'_ Thought Arthur.  
The man stared at them, "How did you do that?" he asked as he pointed at the rope.   
"He thinks he's a magician." Said Conan.   
"Wait an minute! Who is that, who grabbed me and why did you look so scared up there?" Demanded Arthur.   
"I didn't think anybody but Ran could scare you that bad."   
"He's Nakajima Taro, and I'll explain the rest later. First let's get out of here before anybody comes back. Can you undo the chain?"   
"Of course." Arthur went over to Taro and began to work on the chain around his wrist. The only entrance or exit to the room was a trap door in the low ceiling Once Taro was free he pushed the trap door open and boosted the boys through. Quickly they pushed the ladder through the door to Taro, who used it to climb out. Arthur shut the trap door, hoping it would buy them some time if anyone came back, and Conan found his glasses on the floor.   
But as they got to the door out of the shack it opened. A silver-haired man in a black trench coat and hat held a gun on them.   
"Well what do we have here?" he asked.   
"Gin." Whispered Conan so softly that Arthur barely heard him. Taro stepped in front of the boys   
"When he shoots me, you two make a run for it." He whispered.   
The man laughed, a chilling sound,   
"Don't try to be a hero. You can't save the brats that way, the bullet will go right through you and hit one of them"   
"At least I'll try." Said Taro, his voice low and angry.   
"I have a better idea. Have the brats eat one of these." Said the man as he tossed a pill case to Taro. "They'll wake up with no memory of the last few hours and you'll come quietly with us."   
As Taro opened the case Conan saw the red and white pills inside.   
"NO! It's poison!" he shouted."   
"Well if you won't do this the easy way... Mescal, get in there!"   
As the gardener came in the shack Taro and the boys backed up slowly. From his position behind Taro, Conan got ready to shoot a sleeping dart at the man.   
Suddenly the man in black tried to turn to aim at something outside. It was Ran! She was too fast for him, with one kick she had him unconscious on the ground.   
Conan shot the gardener while he was distracted by this and before the dart could take full effect Taro brought him down with an uppercut to the jaw. Arthur grabbed the pills when Taro dropped them, then he followed right behind Conan as he ran out of the shack.   
The two men were quickly hog- tied while Ran called her father and the police with her cell phone.   
  
The police and Kogoro arrived almost simultaneously and the two men were hand cuffed before they awoke. And Taro began to explain,   
"When I was in high school I liked to party and one time, well later I figured out that someone put some thing in my drink but at the time... All I knew was that when someone suggested we break into the school and 'Have some fun.' I went along with it. We trashed a few rooms and spray painted the lockers.   
Somehow a fire got started, we all got out ok but the school burned down, and I was too scared to tell anyone. A few months ago Suzuki, the gardener started to blackmail me with this. If I didn't pay him he would give my dad proof that I had been involved with the school burning down. He kept demanding more and more money; I even used my dad's security codes and passwords to steal from the company to pay him.   
A few days ago he demanded money again and I had had enough. I said I was going to the police and telling them my self."   
Taro took a breath as though to gather the courage to continue,   
"I should have gone right away but I wanted my parents to hear it from me first. That night, after the party Suzuki and that other guy grabbed me, I've been chained up under that shed since.   
I don't think Suzuki was his real name, that other guy called him Mescal. They wanted me to give them the codes I used to access my fathers computer.   
But I knew that once they got what they wanted they wouldn't have any reason to keep me alive. I would still be there if it wasn't for these two little detectives."


	9. Tying up loose ends

True to his word Nakajima Taro turned himself in but the judge let him perform community service for most of his sentence, and Renjiro was set free, as it was clear that the murder was faked by the gardener to explain Taro's disappearance. And the grateful Nakajima's raved about 'The great Kogoro and his brilliant team of detectives.'   
  
As Kogoro, Ran and the boys sailed home on the yacht Conan and Arthur stood at the rail looking at the sea.   
"That was quick thinking, to grab the Apotoxin like that." Said Conan.   
"Thanks, you know that was incredible what you did back there for that family."   
"No, what we did for that family. I could never have freed myself or Taro."   
Arthur grinned mischievously as he said.   
"I told you we should just tell Ran and stand back and watch her bring down the Black Organization!" Conan looked irritated for a moment before he laughed and said.   
"She's really something, isn't she?" He looked over at Arthur.  
"You know I been thinking, does your offer to teach me to juggle still stand?" Arthur looked at him in surprise.  
"I mean I do think better when I'm moving and I can't always kick a soccer ball around."   
"Sure I'll teach you to juggle! And maybe some lock picking and escape techniques in case I'm not around. And you could teach me how detectives think." His grin became wider.   
"Remember when you said I was smarter than I look?"   
"Yeah."   
"You do realize we look a lot alike?"  
  
As a truce had become a partnership, now with shared laughter the partnership changed into a friendship. A friendship that would only grow stronger and perhaps, could become the Black Organizations worst nightmare.   
For now, although they were still trapped as Arthur and Conan, neither Kaito nor Shinichi were alone in their fight, and they now had samples of the Apotoxin for Ai to work with.  
  
Later that night Inspector Nakamori received a phone call and a familiar and annoying voice suggested he interview the men arrested during detective Mori's latest case "To shed some light on who was shooting" during the KID's last heist.  
"%#& THAT BLASTED KID! $! %$$."   
Several officers jumped at the outburst from the inspector's office.  
"The KID is back!" said one.  
  
On Monday Yamada-sensei was very grateful that this was the last day he would be substituting for Mrs. Kobayashi. He was never again going to teach a class that included Edogawa Conan or Haibara Ai. _'The only thing that could make it worse would be if there were more of them'_ He thought.  
"Sir, Sir! I have a new student for your class" said the secretary.   
He turned around to look and saw TWO Conan's!   
The secretary continued, "This is Conan's twin brother, Edogawa Arthur."  
...  
"Do the teachers here often act like that?"   
"No Arthur, I've never seen a teacher do that before."  
  
End of Little Kid part one.  
  
I'm starting on part two, look for it in about two weeks maybe less.   
I hope you liked the mystery; I've gained a new admiration for anyone who can write a good mystery. I had to start by figuring out what happened, and then I had to figure out what clues and evidence that would leave. Then I could write the story.   
No I don't know what the teacher is doing in the last paragraph but that scene has been demanding a place in the story since the second chapter. Go figure.  
Mescal is a drink kind of like tequila, I don't know much about it; I just wanted a name for one of the BO that hadn't been used too often.


	10. Part2 Ch1 Just an ordinary day

Ok, part two has started and I will try to update every week to week and a half.

Thank you for the reviews!

CrazyInsansAnimeFanGirl, thanks I'm glad you liked it.

Mystic, I'm glad you liked the mystery and the scene with the teacher. I'm sure that Conan, Ai and Arthur must be a challenge to their teacher.

Otaku, here it is. Sorry it took so long but I like to outline each part before I start to write it, helps to prevent writers block.

Dark-Koomrie, I'm flattered that you think this is one of the best DC stories you've read but there are many stories much better than mine. Look for stories by Becky Tailweaver, Icka M. Chif, or Ysabet. They are incredible authors!

Disclaimer, I don't own Detective Conan or any of the characters, I'm just borrowing them.

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School was out, not just for the day but also for the summer. And groups of excited students were walking home. One group of six elementary students stands out a little from the crowd, mostly because of one small boy walking on his hands. The other kids ignore this unusual method of travel; they are more interested in the conversation.

"I can't believe you did that." Said Conan, who could almost be a mirror image of the boy doing a handstand. He sounded like he was caught somewhere between laughter and disgust.

"Well, dear brother, the last day of school should always be memorable." Apparently tired of walking on his hands Arthur got back on his feet.

"It was memorable alright."

"It was so cool!" said Genta, who was much taller than Arthur or Conan and looked to weigh more than both of them together. "How did you get the blue Jell-O and glitter in the teachers lounge anyway?"

"With magic." Said Arthur with a grin.

"There's no such thing as magic, it's a scientific impossibility." Said Mitsuhiko. "It must have been some kind of trick, but I can't figure out how you did all that, especially the stuff with the school bell and the announcements."

Ayumi whispered something to Ai and giggled.

"Well yes," Ai replied calmly as she pushed a lock of her blond hair out of her face. "But I thought the fire drill and pink smoke was a little too dramatic."

Arthur overheard her and shrugged. "What can I say? I got bored."

After a while the kids split up to go to their separate homes after promising to meet at the park tomorrow. Conan and Arthur climbed the stairs leading to The Moori Detective Agency, once inside they were greeted by the familiar sound of Kogoro yelling at the TV.

"I guess Ran isn't home yet." Said Arthur

"I'm going to our room until she gets home, it's better than listening to him." Said Conan

"Yeah, I'm glad we finally got our own room. Sometimes the smell makes me wonder if he brought some work home and lost it in his bedroom, and then there's his snoring."

"You're glad? I lived here for a year before Kogoro and Ran cleaned out that little room for us."

The room they entered was tiny, a dresser and bookshelf took up most of one wall. The only other furniture in the room was a storage chest under the small window. Arthur immediately claimed this chest as his seat, leaving Conan to sit on the floor.

Conan picked out a book and began to read, while Arthur pulled three small rubber balls out of his pocket and began to juggle. The three balls became four, then six as they spun in ever more complicated patterns, then Arthur began randomly bouncing a ball off of the walls, ceiling and floor and catching it without dropping or slowing the others. Conan never looked up from his book, until.

'Bonk'

"Ow! Stop that!" Snapped Conan rubbing the back of his head.

"Stop what?" asked Arthur a little too innocently, as another ball bounced off the wall and ricocheted off Conan's head before Arthur returned it to the whirling collection of objects that now included the six balls, two books, a cup and one of Conan's shoes.

Conan didn't ask how Arthur got one of his shoes when he knew he had left them by the door; he just waited until Arthur launched another ball in his direction. He caught it and threw it back at Arthur who juggled it and sent another one to Conan. That one was returned to him just as quickly, and when Ran came home she found Arthur and Conan juggling several balls and small objects between them. She stood in the doorway for a while and watched the two boys before heading to the kitchen to start dinner.

It wasn't long before the delicious scent of her cooking brought the boys into the kitchen. And while dinner finished cooking the boys set the table. As usual, Arthur began juggling dishes and Conan lectured him in a futile attempt to make him stop. Ran just ignored it; Arthur never dropped a dish and any attention only made him worse.

Dinner was rather quiet; Arthur hadn't pulled any of his tricks during meals since the noodle incident last month. And after dinner Kogoro took control of the remote so Ran took out a magazine to read while the boys played checkers.

Somehow the game of checkers became a pillow fight. When the boys got too close to Ran she flattened them both with a cushion, and the war was on!  
Ran used her greater height and strength to full advantage while Arthur all but climbed the walls and bounced off furniture. Conan some how held his own, he seemed to know what the other two would do almost before they did.

Finally Kogoro had had enough and started yelling so all three ran out of the room. In the hall Ran leaned against the wall and tried to stop laughing long enough to catch her breath.

"I don't think I've laughed that hard since Shinichi left. Thank you, I needed that."

She placed a gentile kiss on each boy's forehead before ushering them off to bed. Although Arthur look embarrassed when she kissed him, she almost laughed at Conan, He looked like a tomato!

Later, after the boys were asleep she found herself looking at one of the few pictures of Conan and Arthur.

_'I'm glad Arthur came here'_ she thought _'Conan laughs more now. He's always too serious for a boy his age. Of course Arthur hardly ever stops smiling so I guess they balance each other out. I wonder what Shinichi would think of them.'_

With that thought she turned off the light and went to bed.

Ran lay in bed, she wasn't sure what had awakened her but something felt different.  
Not wrong but some how off. Quietly she got up and began to check the house, everything felt eerie, dreamlike. Moving carefully through the darkened rooms so as to not awaken anyone she came to the living room.

Perched on the narrow sill of an open window, as comfortable as if he lay in bed, was Arthur. At least it looked like Arthur though he wasn't wearing his glasses and looked somehow older. His light blue pajamas were bleached by the moonlight to a silvery almost white, yet his eyes seemed more intense than she'd ever seen. In his hands was a piece of white paper, as he began folding it he spoke softly to himself.

"I wonder what your dreams hold tonight Aoko? Do you think of a certain messy-haired magician? Do you know how much I miss you? I doubt it, I've kept you at arms length to protect you but look where that got me."  
Under his nimble fingers the paper had become a dove, the fragile curve of its half-spread wings made it look like it would fly from his hand at any moment.  
"You're right, sometimes I'm too clever for my own good. My brilliant plan to expose the ones who stole my father's life has failed spectacularly. If not for those detectives I'd be dead, instead I'm trapped in this half-life."  
All unwilling his fingers tightened, crushing the paper dove in his small hands.  
"Damn it! How has Kudo lived like this? It's only been a few months and I feel like I'm loosing my mind. What I wouldn't give to see you again Aoko, even if you were mad at me, even if you hated me, God knows I'd deserve it if you did."  
He looked sadly at the crumpled paper in his hands and slowly straitened and smoothed some parts while folding others; soon he had a rose resting on the palm of his hand.  
"If I get out of this mess alive I'll tell you everything, no more secrets. Not about me, not about my family, you deserve at least that much."  
He cupped his hands around the rose, hiding it. Then he lifted up and opened his hands as if offering the paper rose to the moon, but it wasn't white paper anymore! It was a real rose, a pale silver-blue.  
"Sleep well Ao-chan."  
He blew softly on the rose and the silver-blue petals drifted out the window and danced away on the night wind.

He climbed down from the window before he realized Ran was watching him, he froze. Most of his face was in shadow but Ran could see his eyes. They were filled with grief and heartache but most of all with a kind of weary determination that had no place in a child's eyes, She could stand the gaze of those eyes for only a moment, a breath before she had to look away.  
When she looked back, though only seconds had passed, she was alone in the room and the window was closed. Quickly she went to the room that Conan and Arthur shared, quietly she opened the door, Conan was curled around his pillow, fast asleep and on the other small futon Arthur was sprawled in a position that should have been impossible for anyone who wasn't boneless.

"A dream, that's all it was." She whispered as she closed the door and went back to her room.

She never noticed a pair of blue eyes watching her from under nearly closed eyelids.

_'That was close, Kudo would kill me if he knew I nearly spilled our secret to Ran.'_


	11. Part2 Ch2 Something to think about

Sorry this is so short, I've been very busy this week and this is the best I could do. I'll try to have a longer chapter next week.

I don't own anything from Detective Conan.

The next morning Ran was a little quieter than usual, she said it was nothing, she just hadn't slept well. Conan tried to fuss over her after breakfast but she shooed him away.

"Don't worry, I just had a restless night. Why don't you and Arthur go to the park, I'll pick you up there in time for lunch." She smiled at him _'He looks so cute with that worried look on his face.' _"Go on, I'm sure your friends are already there."

"Okay Ran-neechan."

Although he still looked a little worried about her he allowed Arthur to drag him out the door.

After the boys were gone she started to clean up the kitchen but she found it hard to keep her mind on what she was doing. _'What a strange dream,' _she thought, _'Why would Arthur talk about being trapped? When he said Kudo was he talking about _Shinichi? _Was it even a dream? Don't be silly Ran,' _She told herself. _'They've both mentioned their parents so their father must be alive. Surely Dr Agasa would have said something, wouldn't he? Unless, their stepfather maybe? Maybe their mother remarried and he's not happy with having twin stepsons. That could be why she sent them away, and they certainly don't seem too eager to go home. Those poor boys! If it is true than Ms. Edogawa and I are going to have a little talk! Checks and occasional phone calls are not a substitute for a parents care!'_

At the park the Detective Boys decided to play soccer. It was pretty much a given that Conan could beat all of them but Arthur could make a ball do things that should have been impossible and all of them, even Ai were better than most eight year olds. After all six of them were exhausted they lay under a tree and talked about what to do next.

"I'm not playing follow the leader with Arthur again." Said Mitsuhiko.

Every one except Arthur agreed to this, he pouted for a moment before shrugging it off and asking what else they could do.

"Well I wish we had a mystery to solve." Said Ayumi.

"Yeah," Agreed Genta. "We haven't had a mystery all week, and last week we just had the one about the lost dog."

Mitsuhiko scratched his head thoughtfully as he said, "What we need to do is solve a really big case so everyone knows our name."

"Like what?" Asked Genta.

"Uh, like find the Kaitou Kid or something."

Only Conan noticed Arthur twitch at hearing that suggestion.

"Kaitou Kid? Isn't he that magician-thief?" Asked Ayumi.

"Yeah!" Answered Mitsuhiko. "He wears a white suit and he tells the police what he'll steal and when he'll steal it and he returns the stuff he steals and nobody ever catches him."

"Weird, does he want to get caught or something?" Asked Genta.

"Maybe he's like a ghost or something and he can't rest until he's caught." Ayumi turned to Arthur "You and Conan can outsmart the Kid and then we'll catch him and the Detective Boys will be famous! Um, Arthur, are you ok?"

Only the past year of constantly practicing his acting skills to pass as a small child allowed Conan to keep a straight face when he saw Arthur's stunned expression.

'_So much for his poker face, He looks like someone hit him in the back of the head with a board!'_

Taking pity on Arthur, Conan said. "He's probably just stunned at the idea of going after such a famous criminal. Even the police can't catch the Kid and they've been chasing him for years!"

"But that's why it's perfect! If we catch him the whole world will know our name."

"Unfortunately," Said Ai "there has been no sign of the Kid for months."

"Well then tomorrow we can go to the library and look in old newspapers for stuff about the Kid so we can be ready for him." Said Mitsuhiko excitedly "If we can figure out what he steals, maybe we can find a pattern to his heists."

'_These kids will be worse than Shinichi when they're in their teens!'_ Thought Arthur as he listened to their plans and struggled to keep his expression under control. Fortunately for his sanity the brainstorming session was soon interrupted.

"I'm hungry." Said Genta. "Is it lunch time yet?"

"Oh yeah! I'm supposed to go home for lunch." Said Ayumi.

"Me too." Said Mitsuhiko

"Conan and me are going to meet Ran-neechan here."

"I'm also waiting for Ran," said Ai, "She'll take me home later."

The kids said their goodbyes and made plans to meet tomorrow, After Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi left, Arthur, Conan and Ai settled down in the soft grass.

"So, any progress Ai?"

"Some, although it will be some time before I have a permanent cure I believe I know why the antidote has only temporary effects. It seems that the Apotoxin remains in our bloodstream in an inert form, it reactivates after we return to our original forms and once the antidote begins to break down, well..."

"Wait a minuet! The poison's still in us!"

"Yes, but it's inactive while you are in this form. But should you or Shinichi take the temporary antidote you must be very careful, if you are injured and some of your blood contacts someone's eyes, mouth, or an open wound they may either end up like us or..."

"Or what."

"Or the strain of the transformation will be too much and they will die, most likely of a combination of multiple strokes and catastrophic heart failure. That's what they meant it to do when they gave it to you. Somehow we were able to survive the change, most people wouldn't."

The three not-quite-children sat without speaking, each lost in their own thoughts until Ran arrived.


	12. Part2 Ch3 Aoko arrives

That same morning, as Ran considered her dream and the Detective Boys considered catching the Kaitou Kid, another girl sat at a window and considered the past few months as she stared at her friends house. Aoko had been unusually quiet since Kaito disappeared. She knew her father and her friends were worried about her but it just didn't seem worth the effort to act normal. Yesterday had been the last day of school and it had been an ordinary day, no explosions, unexpected fire drills, or random livestock involved. After school had been ordinary too, except for Keiko and Akako teaming up to drag Hakuba to the mall.

There were no flowers out of thin air, no card tricks, no reason for her to chase someone with a mop, no magic. She hated it! She wanted Kaito back, She wanted to see him trade insults with Hakuba and pull pranks (though she still wondered _how _he had managed to dye Hakuba's hair lime green and pale lavender in an argyle print!) She even missed his teasing her until she went after him with a mop. Without Kaito around, every day was ordinary.

She got up and began to pick up the room, her father had left in a hurry that morning and the newspaper was still scattered around, as she picked up one section that had slid under the table one article caught her attention.

'_That's it!' _she thought as she hurriedly grabbed her keys and shoes and ran out the door, taking a page of the paper with her.

Ran took Conan, Arthur and Ai to lunch at a fast food place, and then they stopped for ice cream. Arthur had a huge grin on his face as he walked down the street eating his chocolate ice cream. Ran chuckled and shook her head.

"What?" He asked.

"You never do anything halfway do you Arthur?"

"Huh?"

Conan wordlessly handed him a napkin and Ai pointed to his reflection in a store window.

'_How'd I do that?' _he thought as he wiped off the ice cream on his nose and cheeks.

"You look like you dove in face first!" Snickered Conan.

"I do not!"

Conan picked on Arthur while they walked to Dr. Agasa's house to drop off Ai then they continued home. When they got there they saw a girl about Ran's age standing on the steps pounding on the door.

"Um excuse me but do you need some help?" asked Ran

"Not unless you know where to find Mouri Kogoro," She said as she waved part of a newspaper in her hand.

"What? He's not here?" Ran found her keys and opened the door. After inviting the girl in she looked for her father and returned to the living room holding a piece of paper. "It looks like he's on a stakeout tonight, My name's Ran, Kogoro is my father, Is there anything I can do for you?"

The girl seemed a little unsure as she explained, "I'm Nakamori Aoko and I'm here because my friend disappeared last fall and no one has found any trace of him, I think he went to watch the Kaitou Kid's heist and never came home. Here's some pictures of him."

When Ran looked at the pictures she froze then picked up a picture of Shinichi that had been taken a few weeks before he disappeared. She looked back and forth at the pictures comparing them then she asked the other girl, "Who did you say this is?"

"Kuroba Kaito, my missing friend. What are you doing?"

"Look at this picture."

"Huh? Wait, what are you doing with a picture of Kaito?"

"It's not, it's Shinichi."

"What?"  
  
"Look closely," Said Ran as she laid the pictures out on the table. "They could be twins but if you look at their jaw line and nose they're a little different."

"Wow, Who is this?"

"Kudo Shinichi."

"The Kudo Shinichi? The detective of the east?! The one that disappeared? I heard he died!"

"Yes, that Kudo Shinichi. He's not dead, the mystery loving idiot has been off on some big case for over a year."

"You know Kudo Shinichi?"

"I've known him since we were little kids."

Aoko smiled, "Like me and Kaito, he's been my closest friend forever even though he drives me nuts sometimes."

"Tell me about it, sometimes Shinichi would go on and on about mysteries and Sherlock Holmes until I wanted to pound him. Then there were the times he'd run off to investigate a mystery and vanish for hours, and now he's been on this case forever and when he does call I feel like he's hiding something." She stopped and looked a little sheepish as she apologized to her audience. "Sorry, I know you didn't come here to listen to my problems."

"Actually I have the same problems with Kaito. He thinks he's a magician and will talk for hours about a new trick and he's always playing tricks and pulling pranks and he never knows when to stop. Also he's obsessed with the Kaitou Kid and always has to run off and watch the heists and well, things are so **ordinary** with him gone I can't stand it!"

Ran seemed somewhat puzzled at that comment but said, "I understand. Don't worry, once my dad is on the case he'll find your friend quickly."

"But are you sure he'll take the case?"

"He will unless he wants to eat his own cooking for the next week."

This surprised a giggle out of Aoko who looked down to see Conan trying to get a look at the pictures.

"Conan! What are you doing?"

"I just wanted to see the pictures Ran-neechan. I wanted to see if he really did look like Shinichi."

"Who's this?"

"This is Conan, He and his brother have been living here while their parents are out of the country."

Aoko smiled at the little boy with the over-sized glasses and handed him the pictures. "Here you are, so you know Kudo too?"

"Um, I've seen him a few times. Like when he wanted to leave a message for Ran-neechan because he couldn't stay."

While the girls continued discussing their missing friends and how much they had in common, Conan looked at the pictures and almost dropped them in surprise.

'_He looks just like me, the real me! Well except for his hair, he has the same style as Arthur. Oh how could I be so stupid? He looks like me, is the right age, plays pranks and magic tricks and that hair can't be a coincidence.' _Conan put the pictures on the table and went to look for Arthur. He found him sitting by the window in their room.

"So you've figured it out."

"Yes, you're Kuroba."

"I should have known Aoko would come looking for me."

"Does she know you're the Kaitou Kid?"

Arthur chuckled, "Let's see, she waves signs saying 'Kid go home!' her father is the head of the task force after me and she admires you because you came the closest to catching me."

"So your answer is 'no'. Wait her father is Inspector Nakamori?"

"Yep."

"I was right, you _never _do anything halfway."

Sorry this took so long but real life intruded (with a two by four to the head) I will try to get a chapter out every week but sometimes it may be closer to two weeks. This story has taken on a life of it's own and is going to be about three times a long as I planned. The good news is I now have a co-writer! She doesn't have an account here because she doesn't have internet access but the pen-name name she wants to use is Tigger. With her help the chapters will be a little longer and updates will be a little quicker. She has helped me with the story before, although she didn't always know about it (the argument in ch 4 is based on arguments we've had) but now it's official. I will also start editing older chapters and fixing typos.

P.S. Thank you, thank you, everybody who reviewed! I love reading reviews.


	13. Part2 Ch4 Going home

Kaito always had strange luck. Most of the time it was a sort of Murphy's Law in reverse, things went _right _for him at the best possible time and in the most unexpected ways. This became even more obvious after he became the Kid, as if the greater the risks the better the luck, sometimes he almost felt it was as if his father was still watching over him.

But every so often, as if to restore balance things would go wrong. Spectacularly, bizarrely, impossibly wrong. Like the time with the rodeo clown and the frosting, or the attack cat, not a big cat just a small tabby with a big attitude (he had to replace his hat after that one). And he just knew today would be one of those days, like the day he learned why he should never, never underestimate little old ladies.

He had known this would be a bad day since yesterday when Aoko showed up waving a newspaper article about 'The Famous Sleeping Kogoro' and wanting to hire the detective to find her missing friend. Kaito _really_ didn't want her to find out that he currently appeared to be eight years old and was living under the name of Arthur and in Kogoro's house. Not that he was worried about Kogoro finding him, as the man was not one of the more skilled detectives, in fact his current fame was entirely due to Arthur's 'twin', Conan, who was really the famous detective Kudo Shinichi.

No he was worried about being near Aoko and not being able to talk to her, to be _Kaito_. He didn't know how Kudo could stand it, being around Ran all the time yet always hiding behind the mask of Conan. He had an amazing poker face, especially considering he didn't have the training Kaito had received from his father. But some times the mask cracked allowing a glimpse of the heartache he hid, it was rare but happened most often after he talked to Ran from the phone booth down the street. Some nights Kaito had listened to the soft sound of Ran crying into her pillow in the other room while Shinichi mirrored her actions on the other side of the small room he shared with his 'brother'.

In some ways they were brothers now, there were only three other people in Japan they could be themselves around, their _true_ selves. They had saved each other's lives as well as their sanity and surprisingly found they had a lot in common. Shinichi had become very good at juggling over the past few months and was learning a few magic tricks and escape techniques while Kaito was surprised to find he was a good detective. It was strangely satisfying to make sure a murderer didn't get away with their crime, that at least the victims family would know the truth, not wait and wonder for years. Even better was saving a life though that was all too rare. He sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the hard seat.

"So what's bothering you?" asked Conan, startling him.

"Huh?" He turned to look at Conan sitting on the bus seat next to him.

Conan rolled his eyes as he repeated, "What's bothering you? You've been lost in thought all morning and Ran thinks your coming down with a cold."

"Do you really want to discuss this here?"

"Why not? No one will overhear us unless you yell, not over the noise behind us."

Arthur paused for a moment, no, no one would overhear their conversation over the cries of "Mom, he's touching me again!" and "I'm telling!" coming from the next seat back.

"It's just I want to be _me_ so badly, I want to wake up in my own bed, I want to see Aoko smile, I want to make her laugh, I'd even be happy to see her standing over me with her mop."

"Her mop?"

"She doesn't have any formal training like Ran but she's as determined as her dad, faster than most of the cops on his task force and has had a lot of practice with her mop."

"And I'm sure you're _entirely_ innocent and _never_ disserve to be swatted with a mop."

"Of course not! You know, you've got a pretty good glare but it would be more intimidating if you didn't look like someone who sleeps with a nightlight on. Ok, ok, take it easy I'm just teasing. Honestly I do stuff to get her irritated all the time"

"Why?"

"I guess it's because I like to watch her. No really, I like it best when she laughs, when she's happy but she's fascinating when she's mad. She has a fire in her I've never seen in anyone else, the way her eyes light up, the way she moves, sometimes I almost forget to dodge."

"Kid, you're nuts"

"Thanks a lot."

"But, I think I understand."

Arthur stared at Conan for a moment in surprise before he again said "Thank you" this time his voice was sincere.

Soon they reached their stop and the two small boys hurried to catch up with Ran and Kogoro who were sitting several seats farther up on the crowded bus. Kogoro was not in a good mood and it was unlikely he'd be willing to wait for them. He hadn't wanted to take this case but Ran could be _very _convincing when she wanted to be.

From the bus stop it was a short walk to the Nakamori family's house, where Aoko and her father met them. After introductions were made Inspector Nakamori looked at Detective Mouri in silence for a while before he said

"A few months ago I got an anonymous tip about a shooting, they said I should talk to the two men arrested during your case with the Nakajima family." Kogoro looked surprised and Conan and Arthur became very interested, "Unfortunately they both attempted suicide."

"They're dead?" sputtered Arthur.

"One is dead the other is in a coma. Considering they managed this while handcuffed and under guard I'm curious how they were arrested in the first place."

"I think they were caught off guard." Said Ran

"Hmph" He looked thoughtful then apparently remembering why they were there he invited them in and began talking about the ongoing investigation into Kaito's disappearance. Although he tried to seem professional it was clear that Kaito's disappearance hit him hard. After he finished describing the investigation he could tell that Kogoro was as lost as he was.

"I don't understand it," He said, "it's like a magic trick gone wrong, here one day gone the next. If only there were clues to where he went. But there's nothing, no note, no trace, just POOF!

Aoko laughed.

"What's so funny about him missing?"

"I'm not laughing about the situation, it's what you said about the poof thing, it fits him so well."

As they continued to discuss the lack of leads the only two people who could shed some light on the situation were not saying anything at all.

Tigger says, "Thank you everyone for your comments we did not expect to get so many reviews on this chapter and we enjoyed every one of them, we are as addicted to your reviews as you are to our story."

Manzanita says, Wow! Ten reviews in a week! That's really encouraging. Well Aoko's here, Kaito's not happy and it will get worse. So I'll see you in about a week (if my computer or internet connection don't crash)


	14. Part2 Ch5 Tag!

The rest of the day was subtle torturer for Kaito; he couldn't face his mom as he was. He didn't think his poker face would hold out much longer so he skillfully imitated a bored and slightly whiny child and 'innocently' annoyed Kogoro until he seemed about to explode. Ran defused the situation by announcing she would take the boys out for some fresh air. Aoko surprisingly decided to tag along and suggested they go to a park down the street. Once at the park Conan, in a reversal of their usual roles, encouraged Arthur to relax and act like an eight year old and almost without realizing it they became involved in a game of tag with several other kids. Ran and Aoko sat under a tree and watched the boys.

"I don't know how you tell them apart." Said Aoko.

"Mostly by personality and hair style."

"Hair?"

"Arthur _always_ looks like he needs a comb. He also smiles and laughs more and likes to be the center of attention while Conan is usually quieter and more serious. Also if something explodes, dissolves, or changes color you can usually blame Arthur. But when it comes to getting into weird and dangerous situations Conan's worse."

Aoko chuckled "Explodes, dissolves, or changes color? That sounds a little like Kaito."

"That's funny, Conan is like a miniature Shinichi sometimes, and I'm not sure I want to see the two of them together. They each get in enough trouble on their own."

"Imagine all four of them together!" The girls looked at each other and laughed.

Across the park Conan noticed the girls laughing, _'It's nice to see Ran laughing,' _he thought, _'she's seemed so lonely lately' _this train of thought was interrupted by Arthur slapping his back with a 'Tag you're it!' and quickly scrambling away over the jungle gym.

The next few days followed this same pattern. While Kogoro investigated Kaito's disappearance, the girls met at a park or mall, (the boys preferred the park). Ran brought the boys with her and once she brought all of the Detective Boys, including Ai. _That_ was an interesting day. It all started when the kids decided to play hide and seek and Ayumi was it, seeing something in the bushes she quietly snuck up to the bushes planning to jump in and surprise whoever was hiding in there. Instead her screams brought everybody running.

"What's wrong?"

"Ayumi, are you ok?"

"There's a dead person in there!" said Ayumi, her eyes wide.

"What?"

"Aoko, you call the police I'll get the kids out of here!" said Ran.

"She's not dead." Came Conan's voice from behind the bushes, "She's only unconscious."

This comment brought a brief moment of silence before Ran dove into the bushes. It wasn't clear whether she was going after Conan or to help the unconscious woman, either way it didn't really matter because the woman opened her eyes just as Ran burst through the bushes. Understandably scared and apparently thinking she was about to be attacked the woman began screaming. This startled Ran who also screamed, Conan, who was leaning over the woman, yelped and fell back, and the rest of their group came running. After everyone had calmed down (stopped screaming) Ran used her handkerchief to help the woman wipe the blood off the side of her face while Aoko called the police and an ambulance.

While waiting for the ambulance to arrive Conan asked the woman what happened.

"I was mugged and, and he took my ring! My engagement ring." With that she burst into tears. Moments later a young man came running up

"My god!" he shouted "Kita, what happened! Are you alright?"

She all but threw herself into his arms repeating 'Seiichi' over and over again as he held her close stroking her hair much like a parent might do to calm a child awakened from a nightmare. An odd look of guilt and sorrow washed over his face as he murmured, "It's all my fault."

"Why?" chirped Arthur.

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"He just said it's all his fault and I wanted to know why."

The man seemed startled, as if he hadn't meant to say that out loud but he explained, "It was my idea to meet here and I was late. If we had met somewhere else, or if I had just been here..."

"It's not your fault." Murmured Kita. "How could it be your fault?"

Calmer now, Kita explained how she had given the mugger her purse but when he tried to take her ring she struggled with him resulting in his pushing her away after grabbing her ring. When she fell backwards into the bushes she hit her head on a rock and was stunned.

The police and the ambulance arrived about the same time, Kita left in the ambulance to be examined just incase the blow to her head caused a concussion or other dangerous condition, while an officer questioned Ran, Aoko, and Seiichi. Just as the officer finished questioning the three teenagers (With many helpful and not so helpful interruptions) It was reported that someone had been arrested for the mugging, it seems a man was found holding her purse and despite his claim of finding it on the ground nothing was missing.

Once the police were done Seiichi was going to the hospital to wait and Ran and Aoko decided it wasn't a good day to spend at the park, and began to round up the kids. While the girls were distracted Arthur walked up to Seiichi and handed him a ring.

"Here, you dropped this." He said.

"What? How?" stammered Seiichi.

"No," said Conan, "The question is why did you attack your girlfriend for the ring you gave her, and are you going to let an innocent man be arrested for your crime."

As Seiichi stared into the too wise eyes of the two boys he found himself saying,

"I had to, her father was going to have the ring appraised. I couldn't let her find out it was fake."

"Why did you give her a fake ring?"

"Her family is wealthy, I couldn't give her a tiny ring and I couldn't afford a better one"

"You _IDIOT! _How could you think the ring you gave her would matter to her!"?

Three boys turned to see a fuming Aoko.

"Uh oh" muttered Arthur "I think she heard us."

"It's obvious she loves you!" continued Aoko "How could you insult her by thinking she is so shallow? Or is it that you think you need to protect her? Either way your pretending to be something you're not and trying to cover it up did nothing but cause more pain than either of you would ever had to deal with if you had just been honest in the first place!"

With that she grabbed Arthur and Conan's hands and marched away almost dragging the boys behind her. When Ran heard the story she shared Aoko's opinion of the whole mess. By the time they dropped the kids off at Agasa's house and went to the police station to explain what really happened they found Seiichi had already confessed and the innocent bystander who picked up Kita's purse was released.

A couple of days later Ran, Aoko, Arthur and Conan were sitting at an ice-cream parlor when Kita walked in; to their surprise she thanked them! After Seiichi confessed they had a long talk, and although her parents were very upset, the next day Seiichi's sister arrived with a letter from Seiichi and a beautiful ring!

"What?" sputtered Ran and Aoko.

Kita giggled and said, "It's really very funny, his grandmother marched in and demanded to see him! Then she handed him the ring and told him that if he ever did something so disgraceful again she'd 'make his head ring' and that he should 'give that ring to his girl and beg for forgiveness on his knees' then she marched right back out."

At this point she showed them the ring, even Arthur seemed impressed at the filigree of white and yellow gold accented with three perfect roses of rose gold, the center bloom revealed a tiny pink diamond in it's heart. As Ran and Aoko admired the ring, Kita explained that Seiichi's grandfather had been a jeweler and had made the ring for Seiichi's grandmother many years ago.

Kita finished up her explanation by saying "I always knew he was hiding something from me, I just wish he had been honest earlier. Thank you for helping him to finally make that choice.

Manzanita says; writers block is **EVIL **evil I say!!! Ahem, now that that's out of my system, deepest apologies to every one for taking so long. I know I said the story is already outlined but that doesn't stop minor mutations. For example Seiichi's grandmother was originally supposed to be a sweet and soft-spoken grey-haired lady. Obviously that changed.

P.S. This is a little off the wall but I'm kind of surprised there aren't more mystery fan-fics here; I first got into this series because of the mysteries.

Tigger is busy attempting to find a cure for writers block but she appreciates all the wonderful reviews.


	15. part2 CH6 Conversations

 The laboratory was dim, and equipment, stacks of papers, and unusual inventions were scattered throughout the room, disappearing into pools of shadow. Giving most of the room the appearance of a haunted junkyard.

 One corner, in contrast with the rest of the room, was highly organized and there stood a lamp on a table. The light from the lamp shone on neat stacks of paper and rows of flasks and test tubes. The only other source of light was a computer screen.

 Perched on a tall chair and working on the computer with a speed and level of concentration that didn't match her childish appearance was a blond haired girl. She seemed to be no more than eight years old and appeared delicate, almost frail in appearance particularly in contrast to the large object that leaned at an odd angle against the wall behind her. It looked like half a jet engine fused with a giant eggbeater and the scorch marks on its sides seemed to indicate it had been on fire at least once.

 Whatever it was supposed to be it now provided a screen of sorts, between the computer and the door. She neither turned nor paused in her work as she said, "I know you want to ask me something so stop lurking in the shadows."

 There's no answer. She sighed as she turned around and glared at the shadows, "Well?"

 A small boy crept out of the shadows, "How did you know I was here?"

  "You know how I was raised. What do you think would have happened if I ever let my guard down?"

  "Oh."

  "I doubt that was the question you came in here to ask."

  "Well, uh..."

  "Just spit it out Kuroba."

  "I need one of those temporary antidotes."

  "No."

  "Look, I'm not going to do anything stupid. I just need to see my mom and Aoko!"

  "Do you have any idea of the risks you would be taking!"

 Kaito backed off, the last thing he needed was for Ai to get angry.

  "I'm not doing this just because I miss them," he said "I'm asking for the antidote so I can get Aoko to stop trying to find me before she attracts the wrong kind of attention. She's getting too close, Kudo and I send her, Ran, and Kogoro off on wild goose chases but she won't give up, and it's getting harder to trick her."

 The two not-exactly-children were silent for a while before Ai finally said, "I'm not saying yes, but I will consider it."

 She turned back to the computer; obviously she considered the conversation to be over.

  "Thank you"

  "I didn't say yes, I'm only considering the possibility that you may have a point."

  "Not for that," he said softly as he left the room "for calling me by my real name. I needed that."

 Ai was not sure how to reply to that.

 Later that day Ai and Agasa were sitting in their kitchen when Conan came in looking unhappy.

  "Is something bothering you Shinichi?"

  "It's just that it's getting harder to mislead the girls. I'm afraid that sooner or later they are going to attract the attention of the Black Organization." He sat in a chair with a sigh. "We need a new plan to distract them and get them to drop their investigation."

 Ai and Dr. Agasa looked thoughtful but didn't appear to have any suggestions. About then Arthur bounced in, his trademark smile stretching from ear to ear.

  "What are you grinning about?" asked Conan grumpily.

  "Nothing."

  "Yeah right, you're up to something."

  "No really, I was just thinking about those two jerks earlier today."

  "A smaller grin appeared on Conan's face and he started to chuckle."

 Although Ai's face was almost expressionless as usual, Agasa looked confused "What happened?" he asked.

  "Just two idiots who wouldn't take no for an answer until Ran-neechan explained, with a punch to a stone wall, why they should leave Aoko and her alone."

  "Now I understand what you said about Aoko and her mop." Said Conan "I didn't know it was possible to swing a chair around like that! Not that they didn't deserve it."

  "Yeah, They shouldn't have called Ran a freak." Said Arthur. "Aoko's kinda protective of her friends."

  "I'll say!"

 A very different conversation was happening next door, at Shinichi's house.

  "Thank you for helping me with this Aoko."

  "You're welcome Ran. Cleaning this place is too big a job for one person anyway."

  "You can say that again!" Said Ran as she handed Aoko a broom.

  "How long has he been gone anyway?"

  "Almost, almost two years."

  "Two years! Where are his parents? Aren't they looking for him?"

  They moved to America years ago."

 Aoko dropped the broom she held as she asked, "He's been living alone for years and when he disappears his parents don't come back, don't even _try_ to find him! I've never heard of such irresponsible excuses for parents before!" Grabbing the broom again, she began angrily swiping at dust-bunnies and cobwebs

  "Shinichi had such an odd childhood, I think that's why he can be so smart but so clueless at the same time." Said Ran.

  "So why do you put up with him and wait for him?"

  "Aoko, why do you put up with and look for Kaito?"

 Aoko turned red and stammered something incomprehensible while Ran smiled at her reaction.

  "I thought so, it's amazing what you'll put up with from a loved one."

  "WHAT! I don't care about him **that **way! That messy-haired magician is just a friend that's all, just my best friend." Aoko continued for a while, as if trying to convince herself that Kaito was nothing more than a friend, when she noticed that Ran wasn't paying attention any more.

  "Ran? Are you ok?"

  "Oh, I'm fine."

  "Are you sure? You looked like you were in another world there."

  "It's nothing, just something reminded me of an odd dream I had a while ago. Well let's get to work," Ran said with a false cheerfulness "we only have a few hours before you have to go home."

 Although Ran wouldn't talk about it, for the rest of the afternoon she couldn't get an image out of her mind. An image of Arthur in the moonlight.

Caution! The following was written while we were suffering from extreme sleep depravation.

 Tigger says, "I did it! I did it! I found the cure for writers block! Now every author in the world will beat a path to my door! MWAH HAHAHA!!! And the formula is, is.... A dream! It was all a dream! NOOOOO!" Tigger runs off sobbing.

 Manzanita says "Oookaay, and she says I'm weird just because I can write humor while listening to 'Gloomy Sunday'. Sorry this took so long, between now and January we will both be really busy so updates will be slow but, THIS STORY WILL NOT BE ABANDONED! It will be finished, eventually."

 "Thank you for the reviews, Psycho King, Tsubasa-667, Night-Owl123, PRIVATE, Animefreak1230, dragon-game, arsg66, Private, The amazing spell-checker, and Southpaw. Southpaw, Tigger and I really like constructive criticism and we appreciated your review. Yeah I know it's a little rushed in places, blame it on being a first fic for both of us. When we have more time we will re-write all the chapters and try to fix this. Spell-checker, you are welcome to point out **any **errors you find, spelling isn't one of my strong points, (It's not one of Tiggers either but don't tell her I said that.)"


	16. Part2 Ch7 The antidote

Although Inspector Nakamori had all but given up on finding Kaito alive and Kaito's mother seemed content to wait for his return, Aoko was still determined to find him. And even though Kogoro hadn't had any success with his investigation Aoko was glad she had met him, if for no other reason than because of Ran. Conan, and Arthur. Ran was like a sister she never knew she had. They even resembled each other, not enough to be mistaken for each other but enough that many people thought they _were_ sisters.

Also being 'Neechan' to Conan and Arthur helped to ease her loneliness. If they weren't _in_ trouble, they were _causing _it. Arthur, with his pranks and tricks made her laugh and reminded her of Kaito while Conan had a gift for being in the middle of things, _especially _when there was a mystery involved. Both were unusually intelligent and perceptive for their age and it was almost scary to think about what they would be like in ten years.

Some times Arthur seemed so much like Kaito that she almost called him 'Kaito'. The biggest difference, besides age, seemed to be family. With all the trouble Kaito had caused on his own she couldn't imagine what he would have done if he had a brother. She didn't think the teachers would have survived, and then there was Hakuba. Aoko wasn't entirely sure why Kaito and Hakuba has a not quite friendly rivalry but it was clear that in their constant contest Hakuba often came out second. And she couldn't decide if the idea of him dealing with_ two_ Kurobas made her feel sorry for him or made her want to laugh out loud. Still, although she was grateful she had met Ran and her unusual family she missed Kaito and no matter what, no matter how long it took she _would_ find him.

Ran was watching TV when a ball dropped into her lap; she picked it up and looked around to see where it came from.

"Sorry Ran-neechan," Said a sheepish Conan standing by the couch. "It keeps getting away from me."

She was surprised to see Conan come after the ball; she had expected Arthur to have thrown it instead. But across the room Arthur held his head in his hands as he groaned in frustration,

"How many times do we have to go over this? Don't throw so hard! Bring your arm behind your back smoothly and throw the ball up, not to the side. It should hop over your shoulder and almost drop into your other hand, not fly across the room."

Ran gave Conan back his ball and watched as Arthur demonstrated the trick he was attempting to teach Conan. With casual ease, Arthur set three balls spinning in the air then tossing two of them a little higher he caught the third one and brought his arm behind his back to toss the ball over his shoulder. He repeated this trick several times with each hand, never dropping a ball, before giving the balls back to Conan. Conan began juggling again with a determined look on his face until the phone rang and shattered his concentration. Ran answered the phone as Arthur ducked a flying ball.

"Hello?"

"Hello Ran."

"Dr Agasa! How are you?"

"I'm fine, I called to see if the boys would like to spend the weekend with me. I'm going on a fishing trip and Ai doesn't want to stay behind. I'd like the boys to keep her company."

"I'm sure they would." Said Ran. "Let me ask them." Ran covered the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand as she turned to the boys and said, "Dr Agasa wants to know if you two would like to spend the weekend with him and Ai."

Conan and Arthur quickly answered, "Yes." As they knew Dr Agasa must have a reason for wanting them to be at his house for the next two days.

Dr Agasa picked up the boys about 4:00 that afternoon, Ran was double checking the boys backpacks to make sure they didn't forget anything and Kogoro was telling her to 'quit spoiling the brats, Agasa can take care of them for a couple of days'. He didn't seem to notice the expression on Ran's face. If he had he might have been a little worried, the last time she had that look she gave him the choice of cleaning up after himself or eating his own cooking all week. He gave in after two days.

Once the boys were in Agasa's car Conan stared suspiciously at the scientist until he began to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Finally without taking his eyes from the road he asked, "Is something wrong Shinichi?"

"I _know_ Ai isn't afraid to stay behind and when she's bored the last thing she wants is company."

"Unless she wants lab rats." Chimed in Arthur. "What? It's true!"

Conan ignored Arthur in favor of continuing to glare at Dr Agasa, who refused to answer until they got to his house.

Ai was waiting in the living room when they came in and Conan immediately insisted she explain why she wanted them to come. Instead of answering him she just looked at Arthur and said, "I've considered your idea and I think it may work."

"My idea?"

"Yes." She said, "You must stop Ran and Aoko from continuing their investigation. Sooner or later they will draw attention to themselves, your plan is risky but we don't have anything better."

"Just a minute! What plan are you talking about?" Yelled Conan.

"I have improved the temporary antidote, it still lasts only twenty-four hours but there is a much smaller chance of it being fatal.

Both boys looked shocked. Conan because Ai was talking about giving them the temporary antidote, and Arthur because, well all he could think about was the words "chance of being fatal".

Ai continued, "You should take the antidote late tonight, I'd suggest around 1:00 or 2:00 AM. That way even if something happens you won't be in public when you start to change back."

"1:00 in the morning!"

"That **is** what AM means Kuroba, you should also eat well tonight and go to bed early so your body can cope better with the stress of the change."

"How much safer is the antidote?" Asked Conan.

"There is approximately a two percent chance of the antidote being fatal, eighteen percent chance of one or both of you being very ill for a few days and a eighty percent chance that the only side effect you will experience will be a general weakness and tiredness for several hours after you return to your younger state. Of course, the more stress your body undergoes close to the time of your transformation the greater the risk of illness or death. And unfortunately I haven't found a way to make the transformation any less painful."

Dr Agasa and the three not exactly children ate an early dinner that night, the meal was… interesting, as Ai had planned it around the nutritional needs of two boys who were physically eight years old and in a few hours would be physically eighteen. It wasn't bad; in fact it was quite tasty, just odd. Arthur was just grateful the meal didn't include any fish. Agasa found it very amusing watching the blond girl make sure the two boys ate enough. He had to stifle a chuckle when she overrode their protests and sent them to bed early, he nearly did laugh when he thought about the fact that the small child was lecturing the Kaitou Kid! Never mind the fact that the Kid was literally a kid right now, it was still quite funny.

Manzanita says, "We're back! Yes it's been forever since the last update but between computer issues and real life (I had to work three days of the four day weekend.) Well this was the best we could do. We will do our best to get the rest of the chapters out faster but updates will be kind of slow until January.

Tigger says "Wow! You're saying I have a real life. I thought I was floating in the abyss of the real world. Now that I'm awake I hate it when gremlins steal my computer."

P.S. Thank you Southpaw, Night-Owl123, The Amazing spell-checker, Private, I don't know if there are two people who sign their name private. Do you some times sign all capitals and some times not? DarkPurpleDragon Thank you for the encouragement and I have read Ysabet's story look at the end of chap 7. I'm glad your enjoying the story Silver Sky Magician, Thank you Firestorm2004, Meitantei Kudo kid, Psycho King, and Vash. Song-Obsessed1 I'm sorry you were disappointed with the last chapter but thank you for your comment. Tsubasa-667 you were right about Ai giving them the antidote, Sabriel-chan; we know about the rushed feeling and we are trying to improve the quality of the story, thank you for taking the time to comment. Kyllir, glad you like it and we enjoyed your encouragement.


	17. Part2 Ch8 The Change

It was very quiet; the few sounds of traffic were faint. On the whole street only one house had lights on. Inside that house Agasa dozed in a chair and Conan looked sleepy and sullen, only Arthur looked alert as they waited for Ai.

"I need some coffee." Grumbled Conan.

"You shouldn't drink that stuff, it will stunt your growth."

Conan's reply was a wordless glare.

"You're not much of a morning person are you?"

"Morning! It's not morning Kaito! It's two A.M.!"

"Maybe you need an earlier bed time so you won't be so grouchy in the mornings."

Conan sputtered unintelligibly while waving his arms causing the sleeves of the too large robe he wore to flap like the wings of an uncoordinated bird. Arthur just looked innocently at him.

"If I may interrupt this important conversation, we need to discuss our plans." Said Ai as she entered the room.

"What's to plan? I'll tell Aoko the truth."

"What!"

"Not the whole truth, about being the Kid and getting shrunk. I'm just going to tell her that I found my father's death wasn't an accident. And that when I got too close then the people who murdered him came after me but two detectives, that's you and Hattori, helped me get away and when we have enough evidence to shut them down for good I'll come back. But until then she needs to stop looking for me or else they might decide she's a threat too."

"Do you think that will work?" Asked Conan.

"I hope so. I really hope so. If I'm lucky she won't start swinging her mop until after I explain."

"If you are done planning, there are a few things you must remember. After your transformation you should rest for awhile to give your body time to recover." Said Ai. "If you see each other today do not call each other 'Arthur' or 'Conan'. Be back here by midnight."

"Do we turn into a pumpkin if we're late?"

Ai ignored Arthur and continued, "And _try _to keep from drawing too much attention to yourselves. Remember if the Black Organization finds you Ran and Aoko will be in danger too."

She sighed and handed each boy a pill and a glass of water. "Just be careful."

After they had taken the antidote both boys sat down to wait for it to start working. The pain hit Arthur first, he groaned as he slid out of his chair and lay on the floor, his eyes shut tight and his heart pounding. _'The shrimp wasn't kidding about how much this hurts.' _He thought, _'It's worth it though, soon I'll be myself again.'_ As the pain increased his breathing became harsh and he slipped into unconsciousness. _'Aoko...' _

Conan was starting to feel feverish when Arthur groaned, knowing that he too would feel the effects soon he lay down on the floor to wait. He didn't have to wait long.

Ai and Agasa watched over the two boys, their moans of pain all but ceased as both became unconscious. As they lay on the floor the adult sized robes they wore made them resemble two small piles of laundry. Gradually that changed, now toes, no, a foot showed past the edge of the robe. Then a hand appeared from a sleeve. Ai and Agasa watched as the transformation continued. The Velcro tabs that had gathered together the extra fabric of a robe popped loose as the child inside grew, aging years in a matter of minuets. The ragged breathing and faint moans became deeper, the change was almost complete and finally the two teens relaxed, they were still unconscious but their breathing had evened out and they were no longer visibly growing.

"They'll be fine," Said Ai. "We should let them sleep for a while, they'll need the rest."

"Do you think this will work?" Asked Agasa.

"I have no idea, but it needed to be done anyway. Hand me that blanket."

"What?"

Ai turned to Agasa "They needed this. They're not like me. Once my sister was murdered I lost the last thing I cared for, the only person I loved." Her eyes looked ancient, the expression on her face was strange, not quite regret, not quite sorrow.

"I tried to kill myself that day, instead I found myself with a new life. I don't remember ever having **_friends _**before. I don't mind being Haibara Ai; I've even begun to think of myself by that name. These two had a life, family, friends, and plans for the future." She acted like she didn't want to talk but needed to explain. "When I was Shiho I was little more than a shadow, drifting through life without ever touching, without being real. I had only my work and my sister and I was careful to not think too much about my work and what was done with it."

She gently tucked a pillow beneath Shinichi's head and turned to do the same for Kaito. "I know these aren't the first lives my work has destroyed, just the first to have a face, a name. The first to be real to me. I can't change the past but maybe I can help them to get back something of what they lost. They've helped me find something I never had before." She looked at Agasa. "A family."

She finished spreading blankets over the detective and the thief and quickly vanished into the lab. Agasa's look of amazement changed into a fond smile as he settled into a comfortable chair to wait for morning.

Tigger says, "What can I say that I haven't said already? Let's just hope the last half of this story is as good as the first."

Manzanita says, "Thank you for all the reviews and comments. I know this is short but I wanted to get this out this year."


	18. Part2 Ch9 Awakening again and more conve...

Shinichi awakened to the sound of Agasa and Ai making breakfast. He lay still for a while, enjoying the feel of being in his real body. After a little while he heard Kaito begin to wake up. Shinichi sat up and looked over at Kaito to see Kaito reach up to rub his eyes and stop and just stare at his hands. With a surprised cry of 'Eeep!' Kaito sat up and began examining his arms and feeling his face. Suddenly he yelled, "It worked!" and leaped to his feet and danced wildly around the room.

Ai and Agasa rushed into the room and stared at Kaito, after a few minutes Ai said; "I see he feels fine, after breakfast I'll want to check your vital signs as well as his." Then she went back in the kitchen to finish breakfast, and Agasa handed them the clothes they had borrowed from Shinichi's house the day before.

As Agasa set breakfast on the table the two boys wandered in, Kaito was commenting on Shinichi's taste in clothes.

"Come on!" He said. "You haven't been yourself in months and you're dressed like that?"

"What's wrong with how I dress?"

"Besides the fact that Hakuba may be the only person in Japan with worse fashion sense?"

"This is coming from someone who wears a white tuxedo, cape, and top hat to commit crimes?"

"It was my Dad's!"

"Ok, but what's your excuse for the pink smoke?"

"I got bored with grey."

"But why pink?"

"If I make it red it stains my suit, besides pink annoys Nakamori."

"Everything you do as Kid annoys Nakamori."

"Yep! Mmm, that smells great, I'm starving!" Kaito quickly sat at the table and started to reach for the plate but then he stopped and sat for a moment with an odd look on his face.

"Is something the matter?" asked Agasa.

"No, it's just nice to sit in a chair and have my feet on the ground again. It's weird but nice."

"You can say that again!" Said Shinichi as he snagged the plate Kaito had been reaching for.

After breakfast Ai examined them and gave them another lecture on being careful before they left Agasa's house, as Shinichi headed towards Ran's home Kaito caught a bus.

'_Not long now.' _He thought, _'I hope this works, if not Aoko will kill me.' _

Aoko was not having a good morning. Her father had left early to organize the response to a possible Kid heist. He was convinced it was a copycat. This didn't mean he was any less determined to catch the thief; just that he didn't think it was the real Kid. And since he had left in a hurry he had also left a mess for Aoko to clean up.

And now, well, first there was the broken plate, and then she dropped the can of coffee while trying to put it away. When it hit the floor the lid popped off and there were coffee grounds everywhere. While she was cleaning that up, the vacuum began making a funny noise and quit working and then when she picked up the trash bag it split and spilled garbage all over the kitchen floor. She cleaned up the trash and got a new bag and decided to take the trash out before anything else happened.

She angrily yanked the door open and stopped in shock. There, standing with one hand lifted like he was about to knock, was Kaito! She dropped the trash bag and stepped backwards, "Kaito?" she whispered.

"Hi Aoko." He said cheerfully, "Is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm not sure I haven't." she said softly. Half of her wanted to grab him before he disappeared again and never let him go, the other half wanted to smack him with a mop for vanishing like that. She grabbed his arm and yanked him in the house, slamming the door shut behind him. She pushed him against the door, holding a fistful of his shirt as she yelled, "Where have you been?!"

"It's a long story Aoko."

"You better start explaining Kaito."

"Okay, but can we sit down first? As I said it's kind of a long story."

Once they were seated at the table he took a deep breath and said, "I'm not really sure where to begin. But, you remember when my dad died?"

"Yeah" Said Aoko, she was uneasy, she had never seen Kaito so serious before.

"Well, he was murdered."

"What!"

"I found a message from him, someone wanted him to help them steal something."

"Why? He was a magician, how could he help steal anything?"

"Not just a magician, he was an escape artist too, remember. He could pick locks, **_any_** locks. He wouldn't or couldn't go to the police but he refused to help them anyway and they killed him for it."

"We have to tell my dad right away! Do you have the message with you?"

"We **_can't_** tell your dad! I shouldn't even be telling you Aoko. First, the message was on a tape and it broke before I heard all of it. Second, these people are murderers. I wasn't careful enough and they found out I knew my dad's death wasn't an accident. Aoko, they tried to kill me too. If two detectives, who are investigating these murderers hadn't found me in time, I, I'd have died that night. I had to disappear, not just to protect myself but also to protect everyone I care about."

"What do you mean?"

"They think I'm dead. If they knew I survived…" He took a deep breath, "Aoko, they would hurt you, my mom, and your dad and anyone else connected to me to get to me. I can't risk that."

"But what are you going to do? You can't hide forever."

"I know, I'm working with those two detectives who helped me. We will uncover these murderers, when they can't hide anymore, then I won't have to." The last sentence was spoken with such a grim satisfaction that Aoko almost felt frightened. There was nothing of Kaito the class clown in that statement.

"Aoko, you can't tell anyone you saw me. If your father knew what happened he would want to investigate and I don't want him to be in danger too. I will go talk to my mom for a while and I have to leave again tonight but, would you like to go see a movie or something?"

"A movie?" She said, puzzled by the change in topic.

"Um, yeah. I missed you Aoko. I think I even missed your mop."

"You did?"

"Yeah! I think I'm getting out of shape without you chasing me around the classroom." He grinned at her, the same familiar Kaito-grin she had seen every day for years. She had missed that sight so much. Maybe he couldn't stay long. Maybe he would be gone tomorrow; hiding from a danger so great that it didn't seem quite real. But just for now everything was right with the world. And she would enjoy it while she could.


	19. Part2 Ch10 Truth

Shinichi stood in front of the door to the Mori Detective Agency, He knew Ran was home and her father wasn't; yet he still stood on the step nervous and unsure. It had been months since he had seen her as **_Shinichi _**not Conan and despite his continual daydreams of this moment he wasn't sure what he should say to her.

The wonderful girl who had waited for him for nearly two years, never knowing that he was right there. That the small boy she watched over was all the time wishing he could be himself and protect her. He was grateful for her care and humiliated by his need for it. And now, for one precious day he could be the strong one. He just had to hope it would be enough, that he could be convincing enough to keep her out of trouble and that maybe he could make the sadness in her eyes fade a little.

Taking a deep breath he knocked on the door._ 'I hope this works.' _He thought. _If it doesn't_ _I'm going to lock Kid in a closet with a really big fish. After I hide his lock picks.'_

As Ran opened the door her eyes widened with disbelief as she said "Shinichi? Is it really you?"

"Hi Ran."

As he stepped through the doorway she grabbed his shoulders, holding on as if she was afraid he would vanish. Startled, he brought his arms up and held her, gently, tenderly, with arms that just for today could hold her, not like a little brother but the way he dreamed of. They stood there for a timeless instant in each other's arms, their eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Shinichi?"

"Yeah?"

SMACK! "Where have you been!"

"Oww" He groaned as he rubbed his shoulder, "I've been on that case."

"For almost two years? On the same case? If you're having that much trouble maybe you should turn it over to someone else."

"I, I can't Ran."

"Why? Nobody solves **every** case, just admit you need help for once."

"That's not it!"

"Then what is the problem? Why can't you just come home?"

"Too many lives are at stake here."

"Lives? What do you mean?"

"The murderers I'm after have wiped out whole families, Ran, I _can't_ walk away. I have to try to stop them."

"Why can't you leave it to the police?"

"The police can't help." He said cynically. " The only cops who know are the ones who work for them."

"But how? I mean they can't bribe everyone who discovers them. Can they?"

"They hardly ever bother with bribes." Said Shinichi sounding disgusted. "They prefer 'permanent solutions'."

"What?"

"A man dies in a tragic accident, or a house burns down and no one escapes in time, or a heroic officer takes a bullet to the head and his killer commits suicide, or a random mugging turns deadly and there's _never_ enough evidence to prove that it was more than it seems. Or someone has an unexpected stroke or heart attack or a fatal allergic reaction." Shinichi was tense, his voice low and angry as he described the kinds of permanent solutions he knew the Black Organization used. Ran's eyes were wide with horror as she realized how serious a situation Shinichi was in.

"You can't keep doing this alone. Sooner or later they'll find out about you and what's going to keep them from killing you?"

"They already know about me. That's why I had to disappear."

"SHINICHI! Why didn't you tell me this before!"?

He took one look at Ran's face and very quickly tried to explain himself.

"I didn't want you to worry!"

"You've been gone for almost two YEARS and you're just now telling me why and you didn't think I would be worried! I've been worried about you EVERY DAY!"

"Um, well, at first I didn't think it would be this long. A couple of weeks at most, and then when it had been a few months I didn't know how to explain why I hadn't told you at first and it just got harder and harder to even think about telling you or where to begin, and I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid that you would get involved and be in danger too." He looked at the floor as he spoke; his voice was soft and hesitant. "I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt, or worse. Ran, I, I just wanted to keep you safe."

"Idiot, I'm not made of glass, you don't have to act like I'll break if anything goes wrong. Shinichi, promise me you wont keep me in the dark anymore, I'm not stupid and I'm not helpless and I think I'll be safer if I know to expect trouble."

"But Ran…"

"I'm not going to follow mysterious figures into dark alleys or anything like that but you need to tell me something about what's going on, if nothing else so I can know when to duck and run."

Thoughts of someone from the Black Organization coming to Ranand telling her they had a message from him. Or that hewas hurt and needed herflashed through Shinichi's mind. A cold chill ran up his back as he realized how easy it would have been for them to take her hostage, or worse. "I'm sorry Ran, I put you in more danger by keeping you ignorant of the truth. I never meant to."

"You alwaysdid say"There is only one truth" I'm glad you _finally_ told me. But why did you change your mind and decide to stop hiding this from me?"

"A friend said if I didn't he would make me regret it. He didn't think I was being fair to you." Shinichi muttered.

Ran laughed and Shinichi looked at her in surprise as she said, "I have to meet this friend of yours!"

"I'm sure you will." He said. A hint of a smile touched his face as he looked at Ran.

"So how long before you have to get back to this case?"

"I can stay until tonight, would you like to go somewhere or do something?"

"How about a movie?"

"Sounds good, there's this one about…"

"We're not going to see anything about detectives, murders mysteries, or Sherlock Holmes."

"But Ran."

"No way, we both need a break from those cases. Now come on, lets get going before something happens."


	20. Part2 Ch11 Many Meetings

After the movie Shinichi and Ran were walking to the bus stop when the sound of approaching sirens caught their attention. When they turned the corner they saw police and paramedics in the middle of a large crowd, as they started to walk past Shinichi kept looking over his shoulder trying to see what happened.

"We might as well go and see."

"What?" said Shinichi.

Ran sighed, "We might as well go over there and see what happened or you'll be wondering about it all day."

"But I don't want to ruin this day. It may be a while before I can come back again."

"That's why I said 'we' I'm going to be at your side until you have to leave. I know better than to try to keep you away from a possible mystery but I'm not going to be left behind this time."

As they walked closer Shinichi spotted a familiar face.

"Inspector Meguire."

"Kudo? You're back?"

"Only for a while Inspector. What happened here?"

"Mochizuki, the editor of The Tokyo Daily Globe committed suicide."

"It wasn't suicide."

Shinichi and Meguire turned towards the new voice as a messy haired teen who resembled Shinichi stepped forward and said, "Look at the man's face, I think he was murdered."

"I didn't know you had a brother Shinichi?" said the Inspector as he looked back and forth at the two boys.

"We're not related." Said both boys in unison.

A dark haired girl burst out from the crowd shouting, "Quit bothering the police Kaito!"

She looked like she was going to drag him away until Shinichi stopped her by saying, "Actually Kuroba is right. This man didn't commit suicide and it's very probable he was murdered."

"What!"

Kaito pointed at the man's face as he explained, "People don't normally decide to kill themselves in the middle of eating lunch."

As the inspector looked closely at the body, Shinichi continued the explanation.

"He still has traces of mustard on his face, most people would at least have wiped their chin after finishing their lunch. And even more suspicious is this wound on his head. I believe it happened before the fall."

"It sure didn't happen when he landed." Said Kaito.

"You're right!" Said Meguire, "The angle of the blow is all wrong for the way he landed. Looks like I'm in your debt again Kudo, and yours as well…?" He turned towards Kaito.

"Kuroba Kaito."

"I'm sure the autopsy would have spotted this as well." Said Shinichi.

"Eventually yes," answered Meguire. "But important evidence could have been lost or overlooked first. Could I count on your assistance with this investigation?" Shinichi looked at Ran as if asking her permission but it was Kaito who answered the inspector.

"With two conditions. Our names stay out of the papers, and our friends stay with us."

The inspector looked doubtfully at Aoko until Kaito explained, "She's Inspector Nakamouri's daughter."

"Nakamouri, the head of the Kaitou Kid task force? You should know to be careful around a crime scene then. Ok, they can tag along and it's no problem keeping your name quiet."

"Thank you Inspector. If we could examine his office now?"

As the four teens followed Meguire in to the building Aoko hissed, "How do you two know each other?"

"Kudo's one of the detectives I told you about, he got me out of a bad situation a few months ago." Whispered Kaito.

"Are you a detective too?" Asked Ran softly, "You sounded just like Shinichi out there."

"No, he's just contagious."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are you even got that creepy blond scientist solving mysteries."

"Well, you don't have to make it sound like a disease." Said Shinichi.

"Fine then how about self defense?"

"… Huh?"

"Well bodies and mysteries do tend to turn up wherever you go."

"It's just coincidence."

"Sure it is."

By this time Shinichi was glaring at Kaito and the girls were stifling snickers at the whispered argument.

"They're as bad as Conan and Arthur." Said Aoko.

"No, I think they're worse." Said Ran.

In the office they saw the half-eaten lunch still lying on the desk and the chair had been rolled back and sat next to the large open window behind the desk. Examining the room Shinichi found a trace of blood on the back of the chair and on the desk.

"From the shape of the smeared blood it looks like the murderer laid the weapon down on the desk here." He said

Meguire came over and looked closely at the bloodstain "So we're looking for a blunt object with an odd angled shape."

"Like one of these awards over here?" Said Kaito. "One is missing and it had a diamond shaped base."

"How do you know one is missing?" Asked Aoko.

"It's been a while since this shelf was dusted, you can see the shape of it in the dust."

Shinichi and Meguire examined the silhouette in the dust.

"Yes, that would be about the right shape."

"The murderer was probably someone he knew well and trusted, there's no sign of a struggle."

"We need to find out who's been in here today."

"Unfortunately, someone can go from the elevators to this office without seeing anyone but the secretary, unless someone was standing near the elevators we'll only have one witness to who's been in here and what happened."

"But this building is full of reporters." Said Kaito.

"So?"

"Reporters make it their business to know what's going on." He grinned at the girls obviously delighted to show off for Aoko. "I'm sure they don't call it a gossip column for nothing."

Tigger Says "Sorry it's been so long but sleep depravation and a broken computer kind of interfered with writing."

Manzanita says "Neither of us had a working computer for a while and I forgot to back up this chapter on disk before my computer went down."


	21. Part2 Ch12 Looking for clues

It looked like Kaito was right about gossiping reporters, at least at this paper. As soon as they started questioning people a thousand rumors turned up. Most were pretty sensational but everyone down to the janitor agreed on some things, such as the fact that Mochizuki had apparently been having an affair and just that morning he and his wife had a loud discussion about it in his office. Ms. Mochizuki had stormed out of the building afterwards.

"Did Mochizuki have any enemies that you know of?" Asked Shinichi.

"Enemies?" Answered Sato Mari, a columnist. "Honey, most of the people here have enemies, it goes with the job. 'Course with the Boss it went well beyond enemies."

"Why is that?"

"Annoying people wasn't just his career, it was his hobby." She leaned back in her chair as she talked. "He'd threaten to fire half the newsroom daily; the other half would be threatening to quit. And his only good points were he had an instinct about news stories, no one and nothing could intimidate him or make him drop a good story, and _no one_ could claim he was prejudiced because he treated _everyone _like crap. I don't know anyone who liked him. And his wife wasn't any better, if it's possible she was even worse."

"Worse?"

"He was always a jerk to your face, She was one behind your back."

Everyone in the building seemed to share Sato's opinion of the Mochizukis, unfortunately this didn't help much as so far it seemed like everyone had a motive. The secretary, Yamaguchi Oharu was even less help than they thought. Although she provided plenty of information, none of it really narrowed down the list of suspects.

"You don't know who could have been in his office?"

"No, he sent me out to get his lunch." She said.

"He was eating his lunch shortly before he was killed."

"I, I forgot to bring the donuts he asked for. I brought his lunch from that place around the corner but I forgot the donuts he liked and he sent me right back out, by the time I got back the police were already here."

"Do you know of anybody who might have wanted him dead?"

"Um, well last year he ran a story about the city councilman who was involved in a hit and run and almost killed a little girl. And just a few months ago when we were doing a story on the substandard materials used by the company that built that school that collapsed in the earthquake last fall. He received some threats, he was told to drop the story or else."

"How did he react to these threats?"

"He laughed and said, he said he didn't feel he was doing his job unless he received a couple 'death threats' a week." She looked down at her hands as she twisted her fingers together. Her knuckles were white with the force of her grip.

"Are you alright Miss?" Asked one of the officers. "You don't look well."

"I, I'm fine. It's just, I talked to him a little while ago and everything was normal and, and I can't believe he's dead. It doesn't seem real, I keep expecting to wake up."

"Did he receive any threats or warnings recently?"

"No, not that I know of. But he often ignores them."

"Did anything out of the ordinary happen today? Did he seem nervous or upset?"

"He acted like he always does, but his wife did come by today and they always yell a lot but this time it was different."

"Different how?"

"Well I couldn't hear what they said in his office but they argued a long time and when she came out she told him to 'do the world a favor' and 'choke to death on his own bile'. And he yelled back "You first old hag!" Usually they finish arguing before she leaves his office." Her voice was very soft and sad as she spoke.

"Can you think of anything else that seemed out of place?"

"No, I'm sorry I don't remember any thing else unusual."

As the young secretary left the room looking more pale than ever Aoko commented, "She's not taking this well at all, is she?"

"Well she's only twenty and I don't think she's been this close to a murder before. Poor girl." Said Ran.

They talked to Shimada Ryoichi, a middle aged reporter, next.

"Did you see any thing unusual?"

"Not really, But I was going through some old files stored on the ground floor so I didn't see much of anybody. I did see his wife leave after their daily fight."

"Daily fight?"

"Yeah, she comes by almost every day before lunch and they yell a while then she leaves with the guy she sees. He works next door and gets off at noon and they usually go off somewhere together for a few hours then she comes back, gets in her car and leaves." He leaned backin his seatand put his hands behind his head as he continued."I was outside taking a smoke break when she came out and stalked off down the street looking like someone took a leak in her tea." Ran and Aoko seemed a bit surprised at the creative imagery, Kaito looked like he wanted to remember that phrase for use later.

"So she seemed very unhappy when she left?" Asked Shinichi.

"About like she always does."

"I see… Did you see anyone else enter or leave the building?"

"Just Yamaguchi, his secretary she came in a few minuets before Ms Mochizuki left. She was carrying a bag from the deli down the street. I think she left again about a half hour later."

"She left? Do you know why?"

"I don't know, I didn't see her leave I only heard her."

"You heard her?"  
"Yeah, she's wearing squeaky shoes today. Mr. Mochizuki sent her on errands all over the building 'squeak squeak squeak' it's been getting on my nerves."

"What time did this take place?"

"Yamaguchi left aboutten or twentyminutes before someone stated yelling for an ambulance."

"Did anyone else enter or leave the building during that time?"

"I don't know. I didn't hear anybody else but I wasn't paying attention."

After Shimada left the room Inspector Meguire asked Shinichi and Kaito if they had any real suspects yet.

"Not yet. Most of the building had a motive, and apparently half of Tokyo as well. This guy made enemies like Kudo attracts mysteries." Said Kaito ignoring the glare from Shinichi and muffled laughter from Ran. "Plus it would have been easy for some one to enter and leave his office without anyone seeing them. I am suspicious of a few people though, and I'm sure Kudo has some ideas as well but we need evidence."

Tigger and Manzanita say, "Thank you, everybody who reviewed.  
Fyliwion,  
Psycho King,  
Vash,  
Billie Jukes (We like your kind of greedy, it means we did a good job. Yes the girls think it's odd that Shinichi and Kaito act so much like Conan and Arthur but Aoko knows Kaito doesn't have a brother and Ran thinks she has talked to Shinichi and even seen him while Conan was in the same room so neither of the girls are suspicious yet.)  
Aikachi (The arguments are fun to write!)  
Clamowamo,  
Rose (No I haven't changed my pen name. Why do you ask?)  
Jay Kamiya (Heiji and Hakuba will show up soon)  
Juliechan (I'm sorry you are unhappy with the length of the chapters but Tigger doesn't have internet access and Manzanita has a learning disability that makes it hard to write or type and between school and work most of this story is written in whatever time we can find before breakfast or late at night.)  
Jackie G,  
TabbythaMiyano,  
PryncessD (Shinichi and Ran have already been to the movies. Kaito went to see his Mom first so he and Aoko didn't get there before getting caught up in the mysteries.)  
Snickerer (We really enjoyed your reviews, especially that you went into detail about what you liked about our story. Specific things people liked or didn't like help us improve our writing. Yes this is the first story here with Kaito getting shrunk. The confrontation scenes were a challenge to write with everybody in character and I'm glad you liked how they came out. Dialogue is fun and comes out better when we read it out loud to each other to make sure it sounds 'real', some of the arguments are actually inspired by real life arguments. Hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the others.)"


	22. Part2 Ch13 Here comes trouble

There was nothing quiet or subtle about Ms Mochizuki's arrival. But then there didn't seem to be _anything_ small or quiet about the woman, from her long nails, like red lacquered claws to her expensive necklace that bordered on gaudy. First she demanded to know why the police were there, when she was told that they were investigating her husband's death she wanted to know if they had caught his murderer yet, then things got messy.

"I assure you we have the best detective in Tokyo on this case!" Inspector Megure's voice echoed down the hall.

"If that's true _Inspector _why haven't you found anything yet?"

"I said we are still investigating at this time and I'm not at liberty to discuss the evidence we have!"

"Is that because you haven't found anything or because you don't know what to do with what you have found?" She burst into the room and glared at the four teens standing in the room. "What are these _children_ doing in here?"

"That is Kudo Shinichi who is aiding us in the investigation."

"Unbelievable! You need help from a teenager? I didn't think you were that incompetent!" She sneered down at the shorter inspector.

"Madam, I understand that you have not heard of Kudo even though the press has been calling him "The real life Sherlock Holmes" for several years now…"

"I don't care if he's the reincarnation of Miss Marple or the son of that 'Sleeping' detective! I want _real_ detectives here, not some spoiled brats."

Ran and Kaito almost choked trying not to laugh as Inspector Megure and Ms Mochizuki continued to argue.

"Kudo, Kuroba, Mouri, and Nakamori are here at my discretion as civilian consultants and if you don't calm down and stop interfering with the investigation I will have you escorted to the station."

"Are you threatening me!"?

"No, I am promising to put you in protective custody if it becomes necessary.** Please** **take a seat!** "

Ms Mochizuki opened her mouth as if to say something but no sound came out, then she closed it, made a sound of disgust and stalked over to a chair to wait.

Because she was so irritated at the thought of Shinichi and Kaito assisting with the investigation Inspector Megure interviewed her himself while the four teens listened. Although Ms Mochizuki answered all of the inspector's questions she wasn't exactly cooperative.

"Of course my husband had enemies! And you should be after them instead of wasting your time here! You can't possibly think _I _was involved!"

"You were overheard arguing with him shortly before his death using language that could be construed as threats and all evidence points to his murderer being someone close to him, someone he trusted. And your attempts to interfere with the investigation look very suspicious."

"But! I…"

"Now tell me exactly what happened starting with your arrival here."

"I came to talk to my husband and we got in an argument. I… I think he has been having an affair again."

"_Again_?"

"Yes, _again, _he has had at least three affairs that I know about. After I left I went down the street to see a friend, by the time I came back here to get my car the police were here."

"So between the time you left after your argument and when you arrived here a few minuets ago you were with your friend?"

"_Yes._"

"We will need your friend's name to verify your alibi. As you left did you see anything suspicious?"

"No."

"Did you see anything at all?"

"Just that tramp of a secretary getting off the elevator holding a paper bag and some bum of a reporter hanging around the front door smoking."

The interview was interrupted by a call for the Inspector.

"Sir! We have something you should take a look at!"

"What? Where?"

"The north end of the parking lot."

"On my way."

Shinichi and Kaito followed Megure out to the parking lot; Ran and Aoko followed the boys. Once there they found several officers clustered around a car. The trunk was not quite closed and a small smear of blood, a partial handprint, stood out clearly on the pearl-white car.

>  
>  
Tigger says, "Sorry it took so long, between work and sleep it's hard to find time to work on the story. I love the reviews that y'all give us. They are great!"

Manzanita says, "I see Tigger is being excessively Texan today. (rolls eyes) Oh well, at least it's not the southern California surfer imitation. The next chapter should be out soon I hope."

P.S. Thank you Fyliwion,

Juliechan,

the amazing spell checker (Glad to hear from you again, we'll try to fix ch 21 by the end of this week.)

Snickerer,

Vash,

Psycho King, (Who does and doesn't get shrunk has already been planned out and cannot be changed with out making this a completely different story but this is just the first of several fics. They won't be sequels and different characters will 'join the ranks of the vertically challenged.)

Data-Dog, (You're the first one to mention the Calvin and Hobbes reference!)

Xeno,

Jay Kamiya,

Joeshen, (Thank you, we put a lot of effort into keeping everyone in character and it's nice to know it's working.)


	23. Part2 Ch14 In her own words

One of the officers carefully opened the trunk with gloved hands, inside there was a heavy gold-tone award with a bloodstained, diamond shaped, marble base. It had been carelessly wrapped in a paper bag and it looked like someone had made a hurried attempt to clean off the blood but had only managed to further smear it.

While Inspector Megure yelled for somebody from forensics, Shinichi studied the interior of the trunk without touching it and Kaito compared his hand to the bloody print on the car. After the boys finished their examination of the car they stepped out of the way of the officers and had a hurried discussion about what they found.

"The blood wasn't cleaned off, more like smeared around."

"It won't be easy getting fingerprints off it."

"Yes, but they may be able to get some off the bag."

"As long as some lawyer doesn't claim the murderer fished the bag out of the trash."

"You checked the size of the handprint?"

"It was a small hand, a little smaller than Aoko's."

"Hmm…"

"We're going to have to handle this one carefully"

Back in the building the boys looked for Sato Mari. They found her chatting with a young officer who had apparently offered to share his thermos of tea.

"If it isn't the detectives!" She smiled and waved them over. "I see Ms. Mochizuki didn't scare you away."

"Scare us away?"

"Honey, the whole building heard her and that inspector," She chuckled, "You wouldn't have been the first to decide that one meeting with her was one too many."

Kaito grinned, "I can see why. Um, if you don't mind we had a few more questions. Just to help us get a better picture of things."

"Sure, I may not have liked the boss much but he didn't deserve _that._"

"No, no one does." Kaito said quietly.

Shinichi nodded in agreement before saying, "We were wondering, everyone we've spoke to disliked Mr. Mochizuki yet many of the reporters have worked for him for years?"

Sato chuckled, "You want to know how we could stand him for so long?"

"Um, yeah." Said Kaito.

"He was a jerk with all the social graces of a dead rat, but he was honest. He never let a questionable story go to print; if it was in this paper then you could be sure every word was true. He never dropped a story because of threats but sometimes he did drop a story just because it was the right thing to do. He was rude and loud and threatened to charge reporters for the paperclips they wasted and few new people lasted a week. I have seen him face down cops, crooks, and everything in between to protect a reporter or source then spend the next month screaming at the poor guy for needing to be protected in the first place."

"Oh," Kaito looked thoughtful, "So most people quit after a week?"

"Most people didn't make it through a week. If the did they usually lasted years. The only exception is secretaries. They quit in days, Yamaguchi Oharu is the first to stay longer than two months."

"She was?"

"Seems like even _he _couldn't bring himself to yell too much at such a sweet girl."

"Oh?"

"And then there's her secret weapon, those big innocent eyes of hers. One sad look from her and you'd feel like you just kicked a puppy. He'd have her meet people before he'd speak with them, especially if they were trying to get him to drop a story. Said it made them easier to deal with."

As they left her to continue her conversation with the officer Aoko and Ran caught up with them.

You're right Ran." said Aoko. "They're worse than the twins, they can run faster."

Shinichi took one look at Ran and flinched, "I didn't mean to leave you behind." He said.

"I know," She answered, "And I know I can't stop you from chasing after mysteries but you better always come back for me."

"Always." He said.

"If you two are done looking deeply into each others eyes?" Said Kaito with a grin as Ran and Shinichi blushed.

"Baka." Said Aoko as she smacked him on the back of his head."

Shinichi snickered before saying "If **you** two are done we need to do some planning."

"Should we confront the murderer or explain how the guy was killed?"

"I think the explanation is more likely to draw out a confession or at least some incriminating remarks."

"That's true; we're not dealing with a very stable individual."

As the two boys discussed how to reveal the killer Aoko listened in amazement. Kaito had always been good at magic, as well as getting in and out of trouble but this was a side of him she'd never seen before. Soon they had the inspector, Sato Mari, Ms. Mochizuki, Yamaguchi Oharu, Shimada Ryoichi, and a couple of officers in Mochizuki's office.

"**What **are we doing in here?" Asked Ms Mochizuki.

"This won't take long Ma'am; we have just a few more questions."

It was obvious she wanted to say _something _but after a glare from Megure she settled for trying to look down her nose at Kaito and Shinichi. Kaito gave her a broad grin when he saw this, Shinichi just continued explaining.

"Mochizuki was murdered while he was eating lunch, now when you were arguing with your husband his lunch hadn't been delivered yet."

"Yes."

"When you left you saw Yamaguchi arrive carrying a paper bag."

"Yes, but…"

"We're just trying to establish a timeline here."

"Well I don't see why this matters but yes I passed her at the elevator and she was carrying a bag."

"Thank you. Shimada, you saw Yamaguchi arrive shortly before Ms. Mochizuki left, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"And you heard her leave again before the murder was discovered?"

"Yeah."

"I noticed there aren't many first floor windows on that side of the building."

"Yeah, it's kinda weird. The door is around the corner too, but what does this have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with the lack of witnesses and the very short time available to the killer."

Now that Shinichi had their attention Kaito continued the explanation.

"He was eating his lunch when he was killed so we know his killer was someone he knew well. Someone he trusted."

"Trusted?"

"Yes Inspector," Shinichi picked up where Kaito left off. "Would you sit in your office eating your lunch while talking to someone you didn't know or didn't like? I don't believe he was killed by someone who had threatened him, instead it was someone he was close to."

Sato looked shocked at this statement, Yamaguchi seemed as sad and quiet as before, and Ms Mochizuki appeared angry. Everyone else in the room, except for the two boys, showed some combination of surprise, disbelief and thoughtfulness.

"I don't believe this murder was planned in advance. He was eating his lunch while he spoke with his visitor when the visitor picked up the award and struck him in the head. As he slumped down in the chair the killer tried to cover up the crime by pushing the chair over to the window and dumping the body out. The killer then wrapped the bloodstained award in the bag that had held Mochizuki's lunch, dumped his lunch in the trash and walked out the door. No one else knew Mochizuki was dead yet, and when the body was spotted a few minutes later it was thought to be a suicide, by the time anyone was looking for a suspect, the murderer had plenty of time to put the award in the trunk of a car and walk down the street."

"But the killer didn't get away cleanly," Said Kaito. "She left too many clues for that to happen."

"_She?_" Asked several people.

"She." Continued Kaito. "The killer is small, she used the chair to get the body over to the window and she still had trouble getting it out of the chair, you see these scrapes on the window sill?"

"But if she got away what are we doing here?"

"Because, Sato, she came back." Said Shinichi.

"You know who the murderer is?"

"Yes, it was someone he trusted but something drastic must have happened for her to feel so angry, so betrayed that she killed him."

"It was his wife." Everyone turned towards Yamaguchi as she continued in a trembling voice. "She fought with him all the time and she accused him of having an affair. And it was found inher car."

"No it wasn't," Said Kaito. "The murderer had smaller hands."

"Yes it was her fault! She didn't love him! Why couldn't she let him be happy? _I_ loved him; he should have been with me. It's her fault he died, she wouldn't let him go!"

Everybody stared in shock at Yamaguchi's uncharacteristic outburst. Everybody but Kaito and Shinichi.

"He betrayed you didn't he?" Said Kaito softly.

"No it wasn't him, he loved me!It was her! She wouldn't let him go, wouldn't let him be with me."

"So you killed him."

"I didn't mean to hit him that hard. It was all her fault anyways. She made me! I would never hurt him, never."

The officers escorted a crying Yamaguchi out of the building and to a squad car.

No, this story has not been abandoned, and we haven't been abducted by ailens, mysterious people in black or irritated, shrunken, detectives. This chapter is being posted at 10:30 pm, after a nine day work week. Yes I know there are some loose ends, the next chapter will be out as soon as humanly possible.

P.S. Thank you everybody who reviewed, added this to their favorits, or even just read this story. The ego boost from knowing that you like this is wonderful.


	24. Part2 Ch15 Dinner and Conversation

As the four teens walked out of the building Ran asked Shinichi "How do you know him?"

"Who?" He looked at Kaito. "Well, he's been trying to track down the people who killed his father and he got a little to close."

Kaito interrupted, "Kudo and Hattori showed up and I've been stuck hanging around with him ever since." He turned to Aoko and quickly changed the subject. "Sorry for getting mixed up in that mystery back there, I think we missed our movie."

Aoko didn't really want to change the topic of conversation but went along with it anyway, for now. "That's ok, I kind of liked watching you two find the murderer. Why don't we go get something to eat and you can tell me _how_ you solved it."

"Shinichi and I were about to go to dinner," Said Ran. "Why don't all four of us go together?"

Aoko grinned. "Maybe we can get these two to tell us what's really going on around here."

Shinichi's smile looked a little sick.

It was only a few blocks to the restaurant, once there they were seated at a table in the corner. As they waited for their food they sat and chatted. Kaito noticed Aoko seemed kind sad.

'_She's thinking about how I can only be here one day' _He thought _'Well I can't let her mope around tonight.' _He leaned towards Aoko and grinned.

"Aoko?"

"Huh?"

He handed her a dozen white roses he pulled from thin air. As she blushed and took them there was a 'poof' and the bouquet vanished in a small cloud of smoke, leaving Aoko holding a single blush rose. Tangled around its stem was a charm bracelet. Aoko untangled the bracelet, looking at the many charms. There was a dove of mother of pearl and a green enamel four leaf clover, a tiny silver mop and a small gold locket shaped like a heart and set with a pale moonstone that held a blue inner fire.

Aoko opened the locket to see a picture of her and Kaito on each side. One picture showed her threatening a grinning Kaito with a broom, the other showed just their faces, laughing. As she looked at the picture her face went from pink to red then she looked up, and leaned closer to Kaito. In one hand she held the bracelet, the other hand was clenched in a fist. Kaito's smile faded as he looked at her, obviously he wondered if he should run for his life. But he seemed to be glued to his chair as she leaned forward and kissed him. Then she jumped out of her chair and ran to the bathroom. Ran and Shinichi stared after her for a moment.

"I'm going to go check on her." Said Ran.

"Good idea," Said Shinichi as he watched her leave the table. Kaito just sat there with a dazed expression and a goofy grin.

When Ran entered the bathroom, Aoko was the only one in there. She was slumped against the wall clutching the charm bracelet in both hands.

"Are you ok?" Asked Ran.

"I didn't mean to kiss him! I thought I was going to hit him."

"Why would you hit him?"

"He just, everything becomes a trick with him. He never takes anything seriously because it's all a set up for a prank or trick, and, and I don't know why I kissed him!"

Ran put her hands on Aoko's shoulders, "Look," She said "**You** told me that he loves to do magic. That he does it in memory of his father, he does magic even when he doesn't have an audience. That it's as much a part of him as running after mysteries is a part of Shinichi."

"But!"

"It doesn't mean he doesn't take things seriously, it's just who he is."

"I guess…"

"Come on."

"No! I, I can't go out there!"

"Aoko?"

"I just kissed him! What will he think?"

"Oh Aoko, just come on."

When they got back to the table Kaito hadn't moved and Shinichi was waving his hand in front of Kaito's face.

"Where's the reset button on this idiot?" He muttered. "Hey Nakamori, if I'd known you had the ability to shut him up I would have insisted we come back months ago."

Any reply the girls might have made was interrupted by the arrival of their dinner; the smell of the food also seemed to help Kaito to snap out of it. Without saying a word about it, they all decided to stick to fairly innocuous topics of conversation. Although Kaito and Aoko tended to blush when their eyes met.

After dinner the girls decided it would be fun if they **all **went to Tropical Land together. To no one's surprise Kaito loved the idea, it didn't take long for Aoko to remember or for Shinichi and Ran to learn why Kaito and theme parks are _not _a good mix.

"DO **NOT** CLIMB OUT OF THE **MOVING** ROLLERCOASTER!"

"But Aoko."

"Do you want me to get a fish?"

"…"

And later.

"You cheated!"

"Lighten up Shinichi, he was running a crooked game anyway."

"But!"

"It's not like I kept the prizes."

"That's not the point."

"You're no fun."

Still later.

"How did he _do_ that?"

"Trust me, we're better off not asking."

"But."

"He's right Ran, you really don't want to ask."

And again,

"Oops!"

"You know Ran is the captain of the karate team at school?"

"She is?"

"Uh huh, she has been for years."

"She has?"

"Yep, since she made black belt. And Kaito?"

"What?"

"She _really_ liked that cell phone."

In spite of, or maybe because of the chaos surrounding Kaito, all four teens were able to forget. To forget the loneliness and worry, the fear and heartache that had been so much a part of their lives for a while now. And be, just for now, teenagers having fun with friends, and ignoring that, like Cinderella, this gift would last only one night and in the morning it would all seem like a dream.

Both our computers died. One was rescued by completely reformatting the harddrive, the other is a large paperweight. We will thank all reviewers and answer some questions at the end of the next chapter which will be posted in about a week, maybe two. It'll also be a bit longer than usual.


	25. Part2 Ch16 The fight

They were some of the last people to leave Tropical Land before the gates were shut for the night. And as they walked to the bus stop the only sounds seemed to be their footsteps and laughter echoing softly between the buildings. Somehow Ran's hand found it's way into Shinichi's as they walked along listening to the teasing and laughter of the two behind them.

Ran heard her name mentioned and looked back to see what they were talking about, when Shinichi suddenly stopped. His hand gripped hers tightly and she looked up to see him staring at a big man in a black trench coat standing in the mouth of an alley. Shinichi started to back up then froze as the man aimed a gun at them.

"You're not going anywhere Detective." Said the man in black as he stepped out of the alley. She heard a muttered curse from Kaito behind her, the only other sound she heard was Shinichi's breathing.

'_He's terrified!_' She realized. She had seen him face down murderers without flinching but this man terrified him. She began to unobtrusively shift her stance, hoping for an opening to disarm the man. But Shinichi slammed into her, knocking her to the side. She heard a sharp **_crack_** and then Shinichi was staggering into her again, urging her to run.

There was a flash behind her and Kaito yelled, "Don't look back! Just run!"

Aoko was next to her and she could hear the boys behind them as they pounded down the deserted street past empty stores and darkened windows.

"Head for the park!" Said Kaito "Maybe we can loose him in there."

The gates were locked but it took just seconds for Kaito to let them in and lock it behind them. But as they ducked behind a merry go round they heard the gates rattle as someone climbed over them! Now Kaito was leading as they ran through the empty park, never following a straight line. They heard another sharp **_crack, _**a gunshot! And another! But the sounds of their pursuer fell further and further behind, unable to keep up with Kaito's apparently random course.

Suddenly Kaito led them in to a funhouse. "We can rest here for a while." He said as he led them into the darkened mirror maze, pulling out a small light with a dim, reddish glow. They followed Kaito into a dead end. Working quickly he removed a mirror from the back wall and reattached it across the front of the dead end so from outside it looked like it didn't exist.

Motioning to the girls to keep quiet he set the small light down in the center of the mirrored room. Ran took a deep breath and reached for Shinichi only to see him flinch.

"Don't! Don't touch me!" He hissed.

Ran stared at him in shock, and then she saw the left shoulder of his shirt was soaked in a dark liquid. She reached towards him "Shinichi?"

"Don't _touch_ me!" He scooted back, away from her.

Then Kaito was there. He had the girls take the light and wait on the far side of the room where Ran and Aoko listened to their conversation with growing confusion and worry.

"Get away!"

"It can't affect _me_ remember? And I can't let you bleed to death."

"Leave me and get them to safety."

"We're not going anywhere just yet."

"I said leave me!"

"Stop being dramatic, the bullet barely nicked you."

"No, not that."

"What then? Oh."

Shinichi moaned, even half stifled as it was it was clear he was in pain. At that terrible sound Ran jumped up followed closely by Aoko. But they had barely moved before Kaito turned around and said, "Stop! Stay there."

"But he's hurt!"

"Yes and I need you to stay back. Please trust me."

Slowly, reluctantly, they sat back down but neither took their eyes off Kaito and the huddled shape of Shinichi. The muffled moans grew fainter, softer and there was a strange, faint chemical smell in the air. It seemed to take forever. Each moment, each _breath_ seemed to take hours as they waited. Then Kaito was walking towards them carrying a bundle wrapped in his coat.

"We need to get him to a hospital. I'm going to distract that thug and you two wait until he follows me then run."

"We can't leave you behind!"

"You have to!" He handed Ran the bundle. It moved! It was Conan? He was wearing most of Shinichi's shirt; the rest of the shirt had been torn into strips and used to bandage his left shoulder. He was unconscious and his face was sweaty and feverish.

"How?" Stammered Aoko. Ran seemed speechless.

"We don't have time right now, just come on."

He took down the false wall and led them to the exit. Cautioning them to stay in the shadows he slipped out. He hadn't gone far when a shot rang out! Dodging in and out of the shadows, seemingly a shadow come to life himself, he ran _towards_ the sound of the gun. As he almost danced across an open space he flung something ahead of him. A bright flash and a cry of pain came from behind a building. Kaito ran straight for it. Briefly the sounds of a struggle were heard before the gun came flying out to land in a patch of moonlight. Kaito followed in a controlled tumble.

He had barely regained his feet before the man came after him in a mad rush. Kaito dodged with near inhuman agility while the man lunged after him like an enraged bear. The man seemed huge and menacing. Yet he couldn't touch Kaito who avoided him with ease, staying just out of reach. Taking advantage of the distraction, the girls tried to sneak past staying in the shadows. Unfortunately the man spotted them and turned his back on Kaito to come after the girls. Seeing them as easier prey perhaps, or as bait to trap Kaito.

With nowhere to run Ran clutched the unconscious child tighter as she shifted her stance, preparing to run or kick. She could hear behind her Aoko shifting her feet on the gravel. But before the man could reach them Kaito tackled him from behind. He didn't have a chance against a guy so much bigger then him. He obviously didn't care. Ran and Aoko ran for the shadows where they hid. Yet they _had_ to watch, creeping out to stare in horror as their friend struggled in the big man's grasp.

Once the man in black got his hands on Kaito he seemed to take his time as he beat Kaito with a sadistic smile on his face. Finally, he held Kaito off the ground by his throat, "Any last words?" he asked sarcastically. In answer Kaito spat a mouthful of bloody saliva in the man's face where it mixed with the blood running from a cut below his eye. The man snarled, without even bothering to wipe the bloody spit off his face he flung Kaito to the ground where the boy groaned, unable to get up. The man reached for the gun, still lying in the moonlight where it had landed, when Kaito groaned again and shuddered. Picking up the gun the man said, "Don't bother trying to get up, it'll be over soon."

"Yes it will, for **you**." Said Kaito before he fell back with a half stifled scream. The man took a step closer before he clutched his head and moaned. A strange mist seemed to rise from Kaito as he began to _shrink._ The man shrieked once, horribly, before dropping to the ground where he lay, unmoving. After a few moments the girls crept out from the shadows. Aoko snatched up Kaito, bundling him up in his now too large clothes, before they ran.

The first thing Kaito noticed was he **hurt **but since that meant he was alive it counted as good news, sort of. The next things he noticed were, a smell of disinfectant, a steady, electronic, beep somewhere close and two voices talking.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. He lied to me. He made me think I was losing my mind! All this time I've been worried about him and he's been right here!"

There was a soft scrape of a chair being pushed back and one set of footsteps tapped across a hard, smooth, floor.

"Where are you going Ran?"

"I'm leaving. It's obvious he never trusted me; he hid this from me for _two years_! He hid this from me while I cried for him. I wasted my tears, but I won't waste any more tears or time on a **self-centered JERK!** When Shinichi's well he can find a new place to live!"

Kaito opened his eyes and struggled to a sitting position, startling Ran and Aoko.

"You don't have _any_ idea what he has gone through for _you_."

The girls stared at him, their eyes were reddened from crying. He continued angrily before either one could interrupt.

"He could have left this behind at any time. His parents wanted to take him away, let him start a new life in safety but he wouldn't leave _you._ He stayed. He stayed to be close to you even if only as a little brother. Even with only a faint hope of _ever_ returning to himself again.

You don't have any idea what it's like, trapped in this way. Not even able to use your _own name._ Seeing some one you care about missing you, worried about you. And you can't even tell her that you're _right here,_ can't do anything without hurting her." Aoko felt he was talking about himself now as much as Shinichi. But he continued looking straight at Ran. "You've cried for him, well he's cried for you more nights than not. He's cried for how he hurts you, and for the things he wishes he'd said and done when he had a chance. And for fear that he might make a mistake and lead those murderers to you.

He's risked death more than once to return to you for just a few hours and you're going to walk out on him?"

"Risked death?" said Ran softly.

Instead of replying he turned to Aoko and asked her "What happened to the big guy?"

"After he threw you he screamed and fell down. I, I don't think he was breathing when I picked you up."

Kaito nodded then winced at the movement. "That's what the poison was supposed to do to us you know. Kill us, not shrink us, and because it's still in our blood the temporary antidote is almost as risky as the poison. And even if the antidote didn't kill there was the risk of being seen like we were last night." He fell silent for a moment as the door to the hospital room opened and Dr Agasa walked in followed by Ai, at a look from Kaito they shut the door behind them.

Kaito continued, pointing at the sleeping form in the other hospital bed, "You've cried for him but he's **bled** for you. He shoved you out of the way and took a bullet in his shoulder. And he wanted us to leave him behind when he _knew _he would soon be unconscious and defenseless from the change and blood loss. He _didn't care_ if he died as long as you were safe! And you call him a selfish jerk? Maybe you should get the whole story before you storm out of here." Kaito was now pale with the effort of sitting up and the pain of his injuries. As he eased back to his bed he looked at Aoko and said, "I owe you an explanation, please wait until I can tell you the whole story before you make up your mind."

"I'll wait." She said softly. "You better have a _good_ explanation but I'll wait."

Ran sat stunned and silent as Agasa placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Thank you for all the reviews,

Psycho King, this is what I've been planning with the poison being transferred by blood. How do you like it?

DaisyAnimeluvr,

greatkid4869,

Jax9,

YumeTakato,

Colormyworld,

Snickerer,

Fyliwion, the charm bracelet was fun and felt like something Kaito would do. With all the hidden meanings to the charms it began to remind me of a Kid heist note.

Janey, that's funny, my little brother kind of reminds me of Kaito a little too. He taught himself to be an escape artist and he has that 'anime character with bed head' hairstyle naturally.

Tigger isn't saying much, she's not feeling well this week and just doesn't seem to have her usual bounce.


	26. Part2 Ch17 Answers

When Shinichi awakened in an unfamiliar bed, the first thing he did was look at his hands. 'I'm Conan again.' He thought sadly, then the memories of the night before caught up with him. In a state near panic he looked around the room. He saw Kaito, no he was Arthur now, asleep in another bed, Aoko had dozed off in a chair nearby and Ran, Ran was asleep in a chair as well. Her head rested on her arms, which were folded on the bed next to him.

He reached out almost touching her.

"Ran-neechan?" He said softly.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. A flash of relief washed across her face but was quickly replaced by sadness.

"Don't! Don't call me Neechan, not now Shinichi."

Those words hurt more than he thought anything could. And he sat stunned and silent as she continued.

"Why didn't you tell me? Was it because you didn't trust me, or did you think I wasn't strong enough to deal with it?"

"No! That's not it at all!"

"Then what was it Shinichi? Was it some sort of _game _to you?"

"A game? More like a nightmare." His eyes looked far to old for his seemingly young face. And the pain his eyes showed stunned Ran. "I didn't lie to you yesterday when I said I didn't think it would be this long. And when it was clear it would be a while before I was cured I just didn't know how to tell you. And, and I was afraid."

"I told you yesterday I'm safer if I know when to duck."

"Not just that. I mean I was terrified that something would happen to you but I was also scared you would hate me."

"Hate you?"

"I can't do anything, I'm useless! I can't protect you, I can't be there for you, I can't even get something off a high shelf by my self!"

For a moment Ran understood what kind of nightmare this had been for him. Shinichi had always been very independent; he had _hated_ being treated like a child even when he was a child. She remembered all the times she had picked up 'Conan', carried him or ignored him. Brushed aside his protests and opinions, he must have hated that. And school, he had been bored with school at the best of times going back to elementary must have been pure torture for him.

"You should have told me." She said. "I'm not so shallow or helpless that you can't depend on me. And more than anything I'm angry you didn't trust me."

Although her voice was fairly calm he looked like he expected to be booted out of bed and sent into orbit at any moment.

"You're right." He said sadly, "I've messed up everything. No matter what I try to do I end up hurting you."

"That's because you keep trying to do everything alone you idiot. I understand you wanted to protect me but I don't need a guardian. Or at least I don't need one any more than you do." She smiled at little as she thought of all the 'situations' he got himself into, both as Shinichi and as Conan. "I don't need a knight in shining armor, I need my friend. And if sometimes I need you to watch my back, well sometimes you need some help as well."

"I always said 'there is only one truth' I guess I should stop living a lie. Thank you Ran, for hearing me out. I've had nightmares about you finding out and never letting me explain."

"You should thank Kaito. I was mad enough to walk out but he woke up before you did and convinced me I needed to hear the whole story before I made up my mind."

They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's presence, until a soft sound caught their attention. They looked over to see Arthur watching them with a broad grin on his face. Ran and Conan both blushed but neither moved away from each other.

"So, did you two kiss and make up yet?"

Ran blushed redder, Conan spluttered and Aoko smacked Arthur lightlyon the back of his head.

"Oww!" He moaned and collapsed theatrically on his bed. "How could you wound me so when I was grievously injured in your defense?"

They couldn't help laughing at his dramatics, and they were still chuckling when the door opened again and Ai came in.

"I'm glad you are feeling better now. But what part of 'don't draw attention to yourselves' did you not understand?" The boys stared at her in shock. "Earlier, Dr Agasa accidentally reveled that I am also affected by the Apotoxin." She explained impatiently, "Now what exactly happened last night? How were you found?"

Conan began explaining the night before. "The four of us ran into each other and decided to make a double date of it." He said. "Everything went well until we were walking back from Tropical Land. Vodka, one of the two that caught me that first night at Tropical Land, he was in an alley and saw me as we walked past." He took a deep breath and continued. "We got away but I'd been shot in the shoulder, I couldn't let the girls get near me but when we were hiding Ran saw the blood. Kaito was going to try to stop the bleeding but I started to change back early. I don't remember anything else until I woke up here."

Ran continued the story. "When you started moaning. Oh god, I thought you were dying Shinichi, you sounded like you were in so much pain but Kaito made me stay back until you stopped. Then he handed you to me but you were you Conan, not you." Ran stopped for a moment; she looked like her last statement had confused her as well as everybody else. Visibly giving up on finding a clearer way to explain it she continued, "We needed to get you to a hospital and Kaito said he'd provide a distraction. But the guy saw us and came after us anyway, Kaito jumped on him and stopped him but the guy was too strong and he, he asked Kaito if he had any last words but Kaito spit in his face. He threw Kaito on the ground and I thought he was going to kill him but then he grabbed his head, screamed and collapsed. Kaito began shrinking so Aoko picked him up and we ran. I don't think the guy was breathing when we left."

"Spit in his face?" Asked Conan.

"It was all I could think of." Said Arthur. "I could feel the antidote beginning to wear off and I hoped it would hurt him enough that the girls could get away. I didn't think the little bit of blood in my mouth would kill."

"Did he have a open wound on his face?" Asked Ai.

"Yes, right below his eye." Said Arthur.

"And you could feel the toxin becoming active before this?"

"Yes."

"That may be why it had such a profound effect on him. The Apotoxin was already active when it entered his bloodstream and it began changing the tissues it came in contact with immediately but there wasn't enough to continue the transformation." She saw the blank looks on everybody's faces and continued, "It probably changed the shape and size of many of the soft tissue structures in his face, maybe spreading to the neck and rest of the head. It certainty would have affected the blood vessels and may even have began to effect the bones of the face and skull before it stopped." They still looked confused. "The only reason you two survived the transformation is because _all_ the tissues in your body changed size _at the same time!_ Imagine, for example, if your muscles began shrinking faster than your bones. Your body would literally tear itself apart."

Everybody shuddered at the thought, Arthur looked sick. Ai walked up to him and said, "It would have been quick. Painful, but fast. That's more than many of his victims got."

Her words didn't seem to help much. Pale and horrified, Arthur said, "I killed him. Self defense or not I killed someone."

And when the nurse came in to check he found Arthur crying on Aoko's shoulder as she held him. While Ai stood silent as a statue and Conan watched from Ran's arms, his eyes too old for his face.

The boys didn't stay at the hospital very long; to the relief of the nurses as neither one was a good patient when bored. Although both were still sore they were glad to be home. The next day Ayumi came by with a surprise to cheer them up.

"Look what my mom got for us!" She shouted.

"What is it?" Asked Ran trying not to smile at Ayumi's enthusiasm.

"Tickets to a _magic_ show! And, and there's enough for all of us! You and me, and Aoko-neechan, and Genta, and Mitsuhiko, and Ai, and Conan, and Arthur, all of us! We're going to see a _real_ magician."

Behind her back, Conan snickered at the look on Arthur's face.

Later that week all eight attended the show. Although Ran was impressed both Aoko and Arthur seemed a little bored. While the magician announced that he would need someone from the audience for his next trick Ran leaned closer to Aoko and asked.

"Is something wrong?"

Ayumi was now hopping up and down in her seat hoping to be picked to assist.

"No," said Aoko "It's just that I've seen more impressive tricks in the middle of math class."

"How about you?" came the announcement, "The energetic little girl in the third row."

Ran and the rest of their group cheered Ayumi on as she ran to the stage.

"What is your name?"

"I'm Ayumi!"

"Are you excited to be here?"

"Yes!"

"have you ever been in a magic show before?"

"No, but I've helped Arthur with his tricks. He's going to be a magician too."

"Oh is that so? Is he here?"

"Yep! He's sitting right by were I was."

"Would Arthur please stand up? … Now don't be shy… oh there you are I guess you were standing. Why don't you come up here?"

Arthur climbed down from where he had perched on the back of his chair had walked up to the stage. He had a broad grin on his face.

"Uh oh." Murmured Aoko.

"What?" Said Ran.

"I know that smile."

"So you want to be a magician?"

"Yep!"

"Who do you want to be like?"

"Toichi Kuroba."

"I see you like the classics. He was quite good if a little old fashioned."

"Oh no." whispered Aoko.

It all went down hill from there. He asked Ayumi to pick a card and look at it then put it back, then he asked Arthur to shuffle the deck. When the magician went to show Ayumi's card he found that every card in the deck was a joker. Smoke began pouring out of his pockets for no reason at all in the middle of a trick. Then when he was going to pull a rabbit out of his hat he got a _skunk_! He dropped the skunk in surprise and backed away. The skunk climbed back in the hat then the hat tipped over and a flock of doves flew out, circled the stage and flew away. And the whole time Arthur _grinned_ in a way that would be instantly recognized by any member of Nakamori's task force.

Even after Arthur and Ayumi went back to their seats things continued to happen. When the magician vanished from a locked trunk and reappeared from behind a curtain he found his hair was now dyed blue. The rubber ball he was using in another trick burst like a balloon leaving a shower of confetti behind.

Finally the poor man had had enough and stumbled off stage. After a few minutes of quiet the assistant came on stage and announced that unfortunatelythey had to cancel today's show but everybody here would receive a free pass for tomorrows show. After some confusion and a lot of grumbling the audience lined up to get their passes and left. Ran and Aoko corralled the kids and got them on a bus but the look Aoko gave Arthur made it clear that she knew who was to blame.

After leaving Ai, Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Ayumi at a park near Ayumi's house, Ran, Aoko, Arthur, and Conan walked down the street towards the Mouri Detective Agency. Although any bystanders would only have seen two young women walking with two little boys, in their minds and hearts they were two young couples enjoying each others company. No matter what they would face they each knew that the other three would be there for them. Whether as brother or sister in every way but birth or as something more they would face it together, no more secrets between them but one.

Thank you! everybody who has continued reading this for the past year and a half. I never would have thought that my first story would do so well! Over 2550 hits since the last time the counter was reset!

There will be a sequel to 'Little Kid' but it may be a few months before it's ready.

I will be posting another 'Detective Conan'/ 'Magic Kaito' story soon that is not part of 'Little Kid'. And my excuse for falling of the face of the earth is on my profile page for those who are interested


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